The building stands on double-height columns at the base, and the facade is made of red Imperial granite and stainless steel.

Hines sold the building in 2004 to Tishman Speyer, which resold a partial stake to Prudential Real Estate Investors.

[20][21] The elliptical shape allows pedestrians on 53rd and 54th Street to cut across the corners, and it permits additional light and air into the building.

[21] To comply with zoning laws, the Lipstick Building contains setbacks above the 19th and 27th stories, above which the elliptical massing continues.

[1][15] Although the building appears to be elliptical, the base and both setback sections are actually polygonal, as the outer walls are composed of facets measuring 2 feet 7.5 inches (0.800 m) wide.

[30] The elevators are placed on the east (rear) side of the building, allowing the rest of the tower to rise with setbacks.

Due to the building's unusual shape and its location on the east side of Third Avenue, winds from the north would cause an extremely large amount of eastward pressure.

[27] Also as a result of the building's unconventional shape, the office space and mechanical equipment had to be adjusted to fit the elliptical form of each story.

[9][33] That April, Burgee and Johnson presented designs for an elliptical building on the site, but construction was not projected to begin for several years, since existing tenants' leases had yet to expire.

At the time, it was erecting an office building for EF Hutton at 40 West 53rd Street, and Hines Interests saw the two projects "as a similar commitment".

[39][40] To attract tenants, Hines Interests opened a marketing center on the 31st floor of the nearby Seagram Building, where the firm exhibited scale models of 40 West 53rd Street and 885 Third Avenue.

[14] 885 Third Avenue received mixed criticism in its early years and was nicknamed the "Lipstick Building" for its unusual shape, but the office space was profitable.

[38] Early tenants included a telecommunications center operated by Telecom Plus;[29] First Interstate Bank Limited;[41] ad agency Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopolus;[44] brokerage firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities;[45] and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

[46] John Burgee and Philip Johnson relocated their firm's architectural offices to the tower, which Hines officials considered a "strong endorsement".

[26][51] The next year, Toscana Ristorante was replaced with a restaurant called Vong, designed by David Rockwell and Jay Haverson.

[58][55] Latham & Watkins signed a 15-year lease for over half the building, or 319,665 square feet (29,697.9 m2), in late 2004 amid growing demand for office space in Midtown Manhattan.

[67] Following the sale, Israeli companies Tao Tsuot and Financial Levers collectively owned a 70 percent stake in the building.

[58] Rental income at 885 Third Avenue declined in subsequent years, partly as a result of the Madoff scandal,[80] but also because of increased vacancy rates caused by the financial crisis of 2007–2008.

[58][84] Some vacant office space was used for an art show in 2011,[56] and the lobby hosted an exhibition on Philip Johnson's work the next year.

[85][86] A cafe opened within the building's lobby in 2010;[87] it was replaced in 2014 by the Crimson & Rye restaurant, operated by chef Charlie Palmer.

[91] SL Green sold a controlling stake in the ground lease to Ceruzzi Properties and SMI USA for $453 million in October 2015.

[96][97] The building continued to attract tenants such as hedge fund Alden Global Capital and law firm Noerr.

[99][100] Amid a weakening Argentine economy, IRSA and Marciano opted not to exercise their option to buy the land under 885 Third Avenue in 2019.

[99] Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, IRSA failed to make payments on the ground-lease loan, which was sent to a special servicer in June 2020.

[103] Later that year, SL Green announced on Twitter that it would renovate the lobby;[104] the firm had begun leasing out space in the building by early 2022.

[105][106] In September 2022, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center paid SL Green $300 million for 415,000 to 435,000 square feet (38,600 to 40,400 m2), about two-thirds of the building's space.

"[109] Vincent Scully wrote for The New York Times Magazine that the building was "whirly Houston type", either honoring the Southwest or referencing Third Avenue's reputation as a "frontier street".

[111] The New York Daily News wrote in 2012 that the building "isn't just an intriguing structure; it's a perfect example of modernist architecture".

[112] Carter Wiseman described the building as "campy absurd" in an American Heritage article in which he criticized Johnson as the "most overrated architect".

"[114] Eric Nash wrote in 2005 that "discontinuity is emphasized at every level", from the columns at the base to the interior layout of the building.