[2] It is thought to contain a highly warped circumnuclear disk surrounding the central active galactic nucleus (AGN).

[3] The name signifies that it was the 449th object (ordered by right ascension) of the Third Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources (3C), published in 1959.

When observed by the Very Large Array, the galaxy features two symmetrical radio jets that end up in lobes and an unresolved core.

[2] Both lobes are leaning towards the west, indicating they are pushed that way by external gas which was formed during a galaxy merger the last 1.3 – 1.6 billion years.

[2] The halo of 3C 449 is connected via a bridge with another galaxy located 37 arcseconds to the north.