Manhattan · New York County
885 Third Avenue
POPS - Outdoor Plaza
- Location
- 885 Third Avenue (Lipstick Building), at East 54th Street, Midtown East
- Size
- 0.10 acres
- Hours
- Open during business hours
- Type
- POPS - Outdoor Plaza
885 Third Avenue, known as the Lipstick Building for its distinctive elliptical shape and reddish-brown granite facade, is a Privately Owned Public Space on Third Avenue in Midtown East.
The Lipstick Building, designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee and completed in 1986, is one of the most recognizable postmodern buildings in Midtown. Its three telescoping elliptical sections create a silhouette that resembles a tube of lipstick, earning the building its popular nickname.
The building gained notoriety as the location of Bernard Madoff's investment firm, which operated from the building's 17th floor until Madoff's arrest in December 2008 for operating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, defrauding investors of an estimated $65 billion.
The POPS at the Lipstick Building's base provides outdoor seating on Third Avenue beneath one of Midtown's most architecturally distinctive buildings and one of the most infamous addresses in the history of financial crime.
This plaza provides public space at a building whose playful architecture and criminal history create one of the most complex narratives of any POPS in the city.