Flagg, who was known for designs in the Beaux-Arts style, built the iron structure to be fireproofed with brick and terra cotta, a relatively new innovation at the time, with a rusty red and green color scheme. An abundance of recessed glass on the front of the building along with the delicate wrought-iron tracery gave it a lighter appearance. Bolted iron plates make vertical pilasters that mark the end bays.

Five central bays join vertically with curled iron tracery at the top of the 11th story, where the cornice is also supported by wrought-iron brackets. A top story, simple in comparison, is set above it. More of this same look can be seen around the bottom two stories. Tracery continues around the window bases and lacy strip balconies across each story. It’s all very ornamental.

The building is L-shaped; the Prince Street facade is essentially a narrower version of the Broadway side with the addition of a sign that reads “The Singer Manufacturing Company.” A few years after completing the building in 1904, Flagg was retained to build a larger structure for the Singer Company on Broadway at Liberty Street. When the new structure was completed, the first building became known as the “Little” Singer Building. The second Singer building was finished in 1908 and was briefly the tallest building in the world. It was demolished in 1968.

In 1979, the Little Singer building was converted to a co-op with offices and joint living and work quarters. In 2008, it received a much-needed restoration, which included a re-creation of the original glass and ironwork sidewalk canopy on the Broadway side.