166-174 North Street, Belfast, BT1 1QS

A corner-sited symmetrical five-bay three-storey former drawing school and commercial building with attic, dated 1899, terminating the north-west end of North Street at its junction with Millfield in central Belfast. The building is rectangular on plan with an L-shaped rear stairwell and WC extension, further abutted to the south by a substantial former warehouse, partially canted at its south end.

The principal north-facing elevation is symmetrically arranged with a narrower central entrance bay. Upper floors are divided into full-height canted bays separated by red brick piers, each with a profiled parapet; the central parapet features carved sandstone embellishment. A terracotta datestone is placed between the second and third floors at the central bay, with smaller terracotta panels to either side. Continuous sandstone cills run across each floor. The ground floor contains two shop units flanking a central entrance, divided by semi-engaged polished red granite hexagonal columns on grey granite plinth blocks, carrying staged piers with acanthus leaf detail (all assumed to be sandstone but generally painted over); profiled finials pierce a cavetto sandstone cornice spanning the entire ground floor. Shop units are covered by roller shutters with tall two-tier fascias above, which may conceal original shop frontage. The central entrance has a corniced lintel, semi-circular fanlight, and embellished sandstone panel over, with carved sandstone lions sitting above the entrance, clasping shields.

The building is constructed of English garden wall bonded red brick walling to the upper floors with red sandstone and granite dressings. Windows have flush chamfered sandstone surrounds (a number of transoms are missing); aluminium replacements are used to the façade, whilst plain surrounds with timber casements are found on the north elevation and rear. A mansard slate roof with cast-iron rainwater goods covers the building, with no chimneystacks present. The principal elevation is covered to attic level by a continuous attic extension dating to around 1970.

The front block is fully abutted on its east side by the adjoining building at Nos 156-164 North Street. The west gable onto Law's Court and Millfield is plainly detailed with single window openings to the extreme right side at first and second floor levels, with large signage to the left side of the windows at these levels. The rear south elevation of the front block is exposed only above ground floor level and is plainly detailed, with regular rows of windows and wall head dormers lighting the attic; windows are generally camber-headed, though some have replacement flat concrete lintels.

The rear elevation is abutted by returns to its left side, which are in turn abutted by a warehouse to the rear. The warehouse has main elevations facing west onto Law's Court and Millfield and south onto Samuel Street, plainly detailed with rows of regularly spaced windows to each floor. The south elevation has a metal fire escape stair to the right side, and much of the ground floor is abutted by a single-storey brick lean-to extension with corrugated metal roof. The east elevation of the warehouse is set back from the rear block and also features rows of regularly spaced windows to each floor (apart from ground floor, which sits within a flat-roofed section linking front and rear blocks); a projecting block at the south end has a blank east elevation. The warehouse roof is flat with rooflights, partially supporting a telecommunications installation.

The building occupies a prominent corner location on North Street and Millfield in the northern section of central Belfast, east of the former Smithfield market site, fronting directly onto the North Street pavement.