The building is clad in white South Dover marble, with multicolored veins, and is topped by a green mansard roof.

[11] Before the Bergdorf Goodman Building's construction, the site at 754 Fifth Avenue was occupied by Cornelius Vanderbilt II's brick-and-stone mansion, which was completed in 1882.

[74] The 754 Fifth Avenue Corporation, a subsidiary of Bergdorf Goodman, agreed to buy the northernmost structure that April for an estimated $3 million.

[89] After Grande Maison de Blanc moved out of the storefront at number 746, the dressmaker Mary Lewis leased space at that address in February 1944[90] and opened a six-story shop there that April.

[95] Following World War II, the Tailored Woman announced plans to expand into the upper stories of 742 Fifth Avenue once existing tenants' leases expired.

[97] Bergdorf Goodman acquired the structures closest to 57th Street in December 1947, giving the company full control of all the storefronts.

The Tailored Woman planned to install an air-conditioning system and increase its floor area from 38,000 to 60,000 square feet (3,500 to 5,600 m2), adding a fur salon and a young women's department.

[107] The Tailored Woman opened a "markdown room" within its portion of the building in April 1951,[109] and it subleased the seventh floor of number 742 to the perfumer Chanel Inc. the next year.

[128] Bergdorf Goodman bought out the Tailored Woman's lease[129][130] and announced that it would spend $2.5 million to add around 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) to the store.

[149] The company announced plans for a haute couture department on the second floor in 1977,[150] and several storefronts for European design firms opened on that story the next year.

[154][157] When the renovation began in early 1982, the company's CEO Ira Neimark predicted that the expansion would double Bergdorf Goodman's sales.

[182][183] Eva Jiřičná designed the fifth-floor renovation, which involved relocating stockrooms, adding a stair, and demolishing some interior walls.

[190] The facade of the Bergdorf Goodman Building was cleaned extensively in 1998,[93] and Van Cleef & Arpels announced plans to renovate its store there the same year.

In addition, the 58th Street entrance was rebuilt, and the company replaced the building's mechanical systems and architectural design details.

[220] A store for the fashion house Valentino also opened within the building, and Bergdorf Goodman planned to add shops and expand the fifth-floor shoe department and children's area.

[239] The Palette cafe in the basement was renovated by Kit Kemp in 2021,[240] and Maison Schiaparelli opened a boutique on the fourth floor that year.

[48] The design largely consists of French classical architectural elements, though there are also Art Deco–style motifs such as low relief ornamentation and decorative panels.

[93] Each of the storefront structures also has horizontally-aligned windows, protruding dormers, and a mansard roof; this was part of Kahn's efforts to create a building resembling "an elegant Parisian avenue".

At Edwin Goodman's request, the northernmost structure contained rusticated marble blocks, French-style ornament, and a round archway.

[167] The storefront windows were typically changed once a week by the late 20th century,[254] and they are often decorated with unconventional displays during major holidays.

[253][255] Bergdorf Goodman's original storefront occupied only the northernmost section of the building, with two display windows on Fifth Avenue and four on 58th Street.

[257] In the northern pavilion, the lowest two stories are rusticated similarly to the 58th Street facade, and there are two display windows flanking a round-arched entrance with a carved lunette.

[259][231] The archway is made of Alabama white marble, with elaborate carvings,[260] and is topped by illuminated letters spelling out "Bergdorf Goodman".

[206] The fifth floor has sliding wall panels and an undulating ceiling with brises soleil (sunshades),[206] as well as art by Leo Villareal, Jon Kessler, Rob Pruitt, Ruth Root, and Beth Campbell.

[265] On the seventh floor is the BG Restaurant, an American cuisine cafe in a green-and-blue space designed by Kelly Wearstler.

[171] The Wall Street Journal wrote in 1989 that the rotunda "evokes images of Versailles" and that "luxurious props abound, such as antique furniture and towering floral arrangements".

[262] The New Yorker wrote in 2012 that the ground floor had opulent "mirrors and chandeliers" in addition to upscale merchandise, while the upper stories had sunlight on three sides, "an amenity rare in New York".

[269] Architectural Digest, in its 2019 obituary of Bergdorf Goodman CEO Ira Neimark, said the building's interior "maintains its status as a frequent attraction for members of the design community" because of the 1980s renovations.

[271] During the 1980s, preservationists had proposed designating the Bergdorf Goodman Building as a contributing property to a planned historic district along the midtown section of Fifth Avenue.

For example, it was shown in a 1960s CBS special where Barbra Streisand performed on the store's main floor, and the 1984 film The Muppets Take Manhattan was shot there.