Like the Eagle Hotel Annex, the small, stuccoed brick building features a striking entrance porch, with an arched opening rising from broad pillars and topped by a stepped gable. It is attributed to Cosby on circumstantial and stylistic grounds, and may have been influenced by Alexander Jackson Davis in its design. It was built as an office for law professor Samuel Phillips and was also used by William H. Battle; it is considered the birthplace of the University of North Carolina law school.