The structure, along the west side of Park Avenue between 32nd and 33rd Streets, was designed by Ely Jacques Kahn and was developed by Abe N. Adelson from 1926 to 1928.

The facade of the first three stories is made of stone and largely contains storefronts, except for a central entrance on Park Avenue.

Office tenants over the years have included the Boy Scouts of America, as well as various textiles, clothing, media, and financial firms.

[33] The mosaic ceiling was intended to evoke the design of a tapestry,[34] with blue, black, and red tesserae as well as gold accents.

[36] The windows of each bay are separated vertically by narrow brick pilasters and horizontally by darker-brick spandrels, which are textured to resemble woven fabric.

Above the 17th story, the outer bays contain red, blue, and black bands (from bottom to top), each with vertical yellow bars.

Each of the walls consisted of a tall gray-marble wainscoting, above which was a gilded plaster frieze with motifs such as plants, chevrons, volutes, prisms, and column shapes.

[44][45] The mural came from a Longchamps restaurant at 59th Street and Madison Avenue, while the chandeliers came from a Simpsons department store in Toronto, Ontario.

To maximize usable space, Kahn designed the structure as a nearly square block with large floor areas and a light court in the rear.

[28] Straus established the Park Avenue and 33rd Street Corporation, which would issue $6.5 million in sinking fund bonds, secured by the land and building.

[18] Two months later, the Two Park Avenue Corporation hosted a dinner in which it presented a ceremonial cup to Adelson, honoring his involvement in the building's development.

[66] When the building was completed, its storefronts were occupied by Seward National Bank,[67] Block, Maloney & Co.,[68] and the Bloomsburg Silk Mill.

[74] Occupants of the 18th through 25th stories included the United States Leather Company,[75] the Building Trades Employers' Association,[76][77] and advertising firm Gardiner & Wells.

[18][79] The Tammany Hall political organization also temporarily leased space at 2 Park Avenue while its permanent home at 44 Union Square was being completed.

[108] Real-estate firm Webb and Knapp acquired control of 2 Park Avenue in April 1953, paying off a $2.7 million mortgage.

[109] That November, the Connecticut Life Insurance Company provided a $6.75 million mortgage loan for 2 Park Avenue to Webb and Knapp.

[114] Over a five-year period in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the building underwent a $3 million renovation, which included automating 16 manually operated elevators.

[121] The next year, Breitbart hired Kwan Lau and Beverly Birks to renovate the lobby with Art Deco decorations that were popular in the mid-20th century.

Bandler and Studley bought more shares in 2 Park Avenue over the next two years, but Breitbart also refused to acknowledge that the men were partial owners.

[126] Bower hired the Williams Real Estate Company, which recommended that the building be sold immediately so the limited partners could receive capital gains tax relief.

[131] In 1996, Mendik announced that he would form a real estate investment trust to control seven of his properties in Midtown Manhattan, including 2 Park Avenue.

[142] L&L Holding and General Electric Pension Trust bought 2 Park Avenue the same year for $450 million[113][143] and refinanced the building in an all-cash transaction.

[145] Among the major office tenants in the early 2010s were fashion firm Kate Spade New York[146] as well as British Airways, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the North Shore-LIJ Health System, and Gilt Groupe.

[113] The building's commercial tenants included Europa Café, Crumbs Bake Shop, and Pret a Manger, which faced competition from food trucks on Park Avenue.

The building's manager requested in 2011 that the New York City Department of Transportation create a no-idling zone outside 2 Park Avenue; he claimed that food-truck owners had caused thousands of dollars in damage, resulting in complaints from tenants.

[155] The visit also prompted Mikkelson to publish a 22-page "Portfolio of Current Architecture" in April 1928, featuring 2 Park Avenue exclusively.

[44] The photographer Cervin Robinson took an image of 2 Park Avenue, with the Empire State Building behind it, for his 1975 book Skyscraper Style: Art Deco New York.

[157] When the building's lobby was renovated in 1977, Goldberger wrote: "It is all bright, shiny and full of enthusiasm for Art Deco", criticizing only the blue ceiling.

[44] Architectural historian Anthony W. Robins described 2 Park Avenue as containing one of the "most striking Art Deco facades" in New York City.

[34] According to writers Jewel Stern and John A. Stuart, 2 Park Avenue was "the project that confirmed Kahn's reputation as a modernist".