The Moen sisters' desire for pretentious residences may have led their architects to model this double Italian Renaissance–derived palazzo after the Villard Houses (1884–1886) in New York City by McKim, Mead and White. Although the exterior is certainly not a conservative revival of Beacon Hill in style or materials, like most houses on the street, it does adapt to the Bay State Road scale. The interiors have the elaborate decoration and eclectic historical mix typical of the day. The ornate balustrade in the entrance hall of 121 Bay State, now the Boston University Admissions Office, displays an open bronze grille with the entwined initials A. C. (Alice Moen Childs).