The building's base incorporates the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, a New York City designated landmark, as well as several retail spaces and a pedestrian atrium.

Seymour Durst had acquired land on the site starting in the 1960s, with plans to develop a large building there, though he was unable to do so because of the presence of other property owners.

In addition to Bank of America, the tower's tenants have included Marathon Asset Management, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and Roundabout Theatre Company.

Other nearby locations include the Town Hall theater and the Lambs Club to the north, The Knickerbocker Hotel to the southwest, Bush Tower and 1095 Avenue of the Americas to the south, and Bryant Park to the southeast.

[13] The block also had a Masonic Temple,[14] as well as the eight-story Roger Baldwin Building at 132 West 43rd Street, once headquarters of the American Civil Liberties Union.

[18] The subway entrance consists of a glass enclosure with a pair of staircases, which lead north and south from Sixth Avenue to the station's underground mezzanine.

[41] Serge Appel of Cookfox said the tower's massing would conform with Bank of America's wish for "an iconic form"[42] and would maximize views of other buildings.

[9] At the lowest stories, the Bank of America Tower's floor plan resembles a rectangle, though the northeast and southwest corners protrude by about 15 feet (4.6 m).

[23][27] During the planning process, the architects considered orienting the Bank of America Tower diagonally so it faced Bryant Park, but they ultimately decided to keep the base aligned with the Manhattan street grid as an "urban gesture".

[51] The Bank of America Tower's curtain wall was specifically designed to meet LEED standards, allowing natural light into the lobby and offices during the daytime.

[32] Above the main entrance on 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue is an installation of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), which produce small amounts of energy for the building.

[57][65] The rest of the landmark theater facade is made of red brick in common bond and is split into two end pavilions flanking five vertical bays.

[34] The Bank of America Tower is also connected to the main New York City power grid but, unlike all other Midtown skyscrapers, it is linked to an electrical substation in Lower Manhattan.

This is in contrast to similar systems being manufactured around the time of the Bank of America Tower's construction, which only extracted 35 to 50 percent of particulates and minimal ozone or volatile organic compounds.

[34][48][18] When the building was being constructed, New York City received an average of 48 to 49 inches (1,200 to 1,200 mm) of rainfall every year, which amounted to an annual rainwater collection of 2.6 million U.S. gal (9,800,000 L).

[90] The floor of the lobby is made of white granite and contains air conditioning and radiant heating, while the west wall facing Sixth Avenue is clad in stone.

[11] In 1998, the New York City and state governments offered to condemn the remainder of the block via eminent domain so Durst could acquire the lots and develop a headquarters for Nasdaq there.

[110] Durst began negotiating with the Brandts for their land,[116] and he started discussing with real estate company Tishman Speyer to jointly develop the site.

[122] Shortly after the attacks, Durst told city and state officials that he was willing to develop the 1 Bryant Park site, even if it meant a lower rate of return.

[125] Durst had already received $115 million in credit from the Bank of New York and other lenders, which in theory allowed him to start demolishing the site before a tenant had been secured or a construction loan had been obtained.

[137] The New York state government told Durst it could use eminent domain on the remaining lots, even though the land to be condemned was not in a "blighted" area, if he could sign an anchor tenant for the planned building.

[141] The announcement of Bank of America's tenancy had spurred interest in office space leasing among smaller companies,[142] as well as investment in the stretch of 42nd Street between Bryant Park and Times Square.

[157][159] Among the other tenants at the Bank of America Tower was Generation Investment Management, a firm cofounded by environmentalist and former U.S. vice president Al Gore.

[172] The window had gotten stuck near the top of the tower while it was being pulled by a winch; this led the New York City Department of Buildings to issue three violations.

[176] The building was refinanced in June 2009 with a $1.28 billion package from a group of lenders led by Bank of America; this financing replaced the Liberty Bonds.

[181][188] Only a few years before the Bank of America Tower's construction, the surrounding area had contained discount stores and homeless encampments, but its completion caused an immediate change to the vicinity.

[35][36] According to Roudman, although platinum was the highest LEED green-building certification available, the Bank of America Tower emitted more greenhouse gases than all other similarly-sized buildings in Manhattan.

[200] David W. Dunlap of The New York Times said that the tower, "rising like an icy stalagmite, is a three-dimensional reminder that big banks now dominate New Yorkers' consciousness.

"[201] Justin Davidson of New York magazine called the Bank of America Tower "a bulky glass stele that executes a modest twist to lend itself an air of grace".

[202] Conversely, Christopher Gray of the Times called the tower a symbol of how "Bryant Park, once synonymous with the worst of New York City, has become a brand name".