The original house was a small wooden frame building around 1883, "It was rented by an African American woman, Ella Jones, a nurse, and her dressmaker daughter." (A. Hoagland)

This two story, two bay rowhouse with an L-shaped floor plan, features a polychrome Flemish bond brick pattern and three decorative wreaths below the roofline. It has wood pilasters at the front entry door. The second floor windows retain segmented arches and their original shape. The pantry and the kitchen were in the back of the house. No. 953 was designed by architect R. Ough and built by Geo. W. Ray in 1909. This brick house replaced the wooden structure.