The building is shaped like a ten-sided "C", although the lot that it occupies is an irregular hexagon. The main facade, along Centre Street to the west, is long while the eastern facade is long. The building has a width of , measured from west to east. The northeastern and southeastern sides accommodated the diagonal paths of Duane Street and Park Row, respectively. The floors' north–south axes are longer than their west–east axes; the wings of the "C" face west. This floor plan ensured that all of the building's windows would be able to receive direct sunlight and eliminated the need for an interior courtyard, which could not be lit by sunlight.