Rockefeller Center
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
Bird's eye view of Rockefeller Plaza, the heart of Rockefeller Center
Location:	Midtown Manhattan, New York City, NY
Coordinates:	40°45′31″N 73°58′45″W / 40.75861, -73.97917Coordinates: 40°45′31″N 73°58′45″W / 40.75861, -73.97917
Area:	22 acres (8. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the See also Manhattan Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial The City of New York New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. 8 ha)
Built/Founded:	1939
Architect:	Raymond Hood
Architectural style(s):	Modern, Art Deco
Designated as NHL:	December 23, 1987[1]
Added to NRHP:	December 23, 1987[2]
NRHP Reference#:	87002591
Governing body:	Tishman Speyer Properties and other partners

Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st Streets in New York City. Raymond M Hood ( March 29, 1881 &ndash August 14, 1934) was an early-mid twentieth century Architect who worked in the Art This article is concerned with architectural aspects of Modernism; for the most recent developments in architecture see Contemporary architecture. Art Deco was a popular international design movement from 1925 until 1939 affecting the decorative arts such as Architecture, Interior design, and Industrial A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the Events 962 - Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of Events 962 - Byzantine-Arab Wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Tishman Speyer Properties is a leading Real estate building and operating company set up in 1978 by two founding partners Jerry Speyer and Robert Tishman Commerce is a division of trade or production which deals with the exchange of goods and services from producer to final consumer The City of New York Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue. The Rockefeller family, the renowned Cleveland family of John D See also Manhattan Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial Seventh Avenue / Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the ^[1][3][4] It is the largest privately held complex of its kind in the world, and an international symbol of modernist architectural style blended with capitalism. This article is concerned with architectural aspects of Modernism; for the most recent developments in architecture see Contemporary architecture. Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where

Contents 1 History 2 Radio City Music Hall 3 The GE Building (RCA Building) 4 Center Art 5 Buildings 6 Former buildings 7 The underground Concourse 8 Flags 9 Small parks 10 Gallery 11 See also 12 Notes and references 13 Further reading 14 External links

History

Rockefeller Center was named after John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who leased the space from Columbia University in 1928 and developed it from 1930. John Davison Rockefeller Jr (January 29 1874 &ndash May 11 1960 was a major Philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. Columbia University is a private University in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Rockefeller initially planned a syndicate to build an opera house for the Metropolitan Opera on the site, but changed his mind after the stock market crash of 1929 and the withdrawal of the Metropolitan from the project. An opera house is a theater building used for Opera performances that consists of a stage an orchestra pit audience seating and backstage facilities for costumes The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880 is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the ’29 Crash, the Crash of 1929, the Great Crash of 1929, the Great Crash of October 1929 Rockefeller stated "It was clear that there were only two courses open to me. One was to abandon the entire development. The other to go forward with it in the definite knowledge that I myself would have to build it and finance it alone. "^[5] He took on the enormous project as the sole financier, on a 24-year lease^[6] (with the option for three 21-year renewals for a total of 87 years) for the site from Columbia; negotiating a line of credit with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and covering ongoing expenses through the sale of oil company stock. MetLife Inc is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company or MetLife for short

It was the largest private building project ever undertaken in modern times. ^[7] Construction of the 14 buildings in the Art Deco style (without the original opera house proposal) began on May 17, 1930 and was completed on November 1, 1939 when he drove in the final (silver) rivet into 10 Rockefeller Plaza. Art Deco was a popular international design movement from 1925 until 1939 affecting the decorative arts such as Architecture, Interior design, and Industrial Events 1521 - Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for Treason. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 996 - Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk Bishop of Freising which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Principal builder, and "managing agent", for the massive project was John R. Todd and principal architect was Raymond Hood, working with and leading three architectural firms, on a team that included a young Wallace Harrison, later to become the family's principal architect and adviser to Nelson Rockefeller. Raymond M Hood ( March 29, 1881 &ndash August 14, 1934) was an early-mid twentieth century Architect who worked in the Art Wallace Kirkman Harrison ( September 28 1895 - December 2[[ 981]] was an American twentieth-century Architect Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller ( July 8, 1908 January 26, 1979) was the forty-first Vice President of the United States, the forty-ninth

It was the public relations pioneer Ivy Lee, the prominent adviser to the family, who first suggested the name "Rockefeller Center" for the complex, in 1931. Ivy Ledbetter Lee ( July 16, 1877 – November 9, 1934) is considered by some to be the founder of modern Public relations, although Junior initially did not want the Rockefeller family name associated with the commercial project, but was persuaded on the grounds that the name would attract far more tenants. The Rockefeller family, the renowned Cleveland family of John D ^[8]

What could have become a major controversy in the mid-1930s concerned the last of the four European buildings that remained unnamed. Attempts were made by Ivy Lee and others to rent out the space to German commercial concerns and name it the Deutsches Haus. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Junior ruled this out after being advised of Hitler's Nazi march towards World War II, and thus the empty office site became the International Building North. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including ^[9]

This subsequently became the primary location of the U. S. operations of British Intelligence, British Security Coordination (BSC) during the War, with Room 3603 becoming the principal operations center for Allied intelligence, organized by William Stephenson, as well as the office of the future head of what was later to become the Central Intelligence Agency, Allen Welsh Dulles. The British Security Coordination was a cover organization set up in New York City by the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6 in May 1940 upon the Sir William Samuel Stephenson, CC, MC, DFC, ( January 23, 1897 &ndash January 31, 1989) was a near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all Allen Welsh Dulles (April 7 1893 &ndash January 29 1969 was the first civilian and the longest serving (1953-1961 Director of Central Intelligence (de-facto head of ^[10]

The Center is a combination of two building complexes: the older and original 14 Art Deco office buildings from the 1930s, and a set of four International-style towers built along the west side of Avenue of the Americas during the 1960s and 1970s (plus the Lehman Brothers Building). Art Deco was a popular international design movement from 1925 until 1939 affecting the decorative arts such as Architecture, Interior design, and Industrial Sixth Avenue is a major Avenue in New York City 's borough of Manhattan. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc ( (pronounced ˈliːmən was a global financial-services firm prior to its bankruptcy and sale in 2008 (The Time-Life Building, McGraw-Hill and News Corporation/Fox News Channel headquarters are part of these "newer" Rockefeller Center buildings, which are now owned/managed by the major private real estate firm, Rockefeller Group. The Time-Life Building, located at 1271 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue in Rockefeller Center in New York opened in 1959 and designed by the Rockefeller The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc, ( is a Publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. News Corporation (often abbreviated to News Corp) (,,) is one of the world's largest media conglomerate companies by Market capitalisation The Rockefeller Group is a global private company based in New York City, primarily involved in real estate operations in the United States )

In 1985, Columbia University sold the land beneath Rockefeller Center to the Rockefeller Group for 400 million dollars. ^[11] The entire Rockefeller Center complex was purchased by Mitsubishi Estate, a real estate company of the Mitsubishi Group, in 1989, which fully bought out Rockefeller Group. ( is a Japanese corporation It is one of the core Mitsubishi companies The, Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese conglomerate consisting of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi In 2000, the current owner Jerry Speyer (a close friend of David Rockefeller), of Tishman Speyer Properties, L.P., together with the Lester Crown family of Chicago, bought for $1. Jerry I Speyer (born on 23 June 1940, in Milwaukee Wisconsin) is one of two founding partners of the prominent New York Real estate David Rockefeller Sr (born June 12, 1915) is a prominent American Banker, Statesman, Globalist and the current patriarch Tishman Speyer Properties is a leading Real estate building and operating company set up in 1978 by two founding partners Jerry Speyer and Robert Tishman 85 billion the older 14 buildings and land from the previous syndicated owners: Goldman Sachs (which had 50 percent ownership), Gianni Agnelli, Stavros Niarchos, and David Rockefeller, who organized the syndicate in 1996 and is historically associated with the other partners. The Goldman Sachs Group Inc, or simply Goldman Sachs ( is a large global Bank holding company that engages in Investment banking securities Giovanni Agnelli, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI ( March 12, 1921 – January 24, 2003) better known as Gianni Agnelli, was Stavros Spyros Niarchos ( 3 July 1909 &ndash 16 April 1996) was a Billionaire Greek shipping ^[12]

Radio City Music Hall

The Radio City Music Hall was completed in December, 1932. Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City 's Rockefeller Center. At the time it was the largest and most opulent theater in the world. Its original name was the International Music Hall but was changed to reflect the new technology of the time—radio. One of the complex's first and most important tenants was RCA, hence the other name the Center itself was dubbed was "Radio City. RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986 "

The Music Hall was planned by a consortium of three architectural firms, who employed Edward Durell Stone to design the exterior. Edward Durell Stone (March 9 1902 Fayetteville, Arkansas - August 6 1978 New York City New York) was an American Modernist The interior design was given to the expert of the then European Modernist style and the expression of a new American aesthetic, Donald Deskey, through the direction of Abby Rockefeller. Aesthetics or esthetics ( also spelled æsthetics) is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values sometimes called Donald Deskey ( 23 November, 1894 &ndash 29 April, 1989) was a native of Blue Earth Minnesota. He believed the space would best be served by sculptures and wall paintings and commissioned various artists for the elaborate and now showpiece work. The theater seated 6,000 people and after an initial slow start became the single biggest tourist destination in the city. Its interior was declared a New York City landmark in 1978.

The GE Building (RCA Building)

Main article: GE Building

The centerpiece of Rockefeller Center is the 70-floor, 872-foot (266 m) GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza ("30 Rock")—formerly known as the RCA Building—centered behind the sunken plaza. The GE Building is an Art Deco Skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of the Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. The building is the setting for the now famous photograph taken by Charles C. Ebbets in 1932 of workers lunching on a steel beam without harnesses. ( New York Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam) is a famous Photograph taken by Charles C Charles Clyde Ebbets (1905&ndash1978 was an American Photographer. The 840-foot (260 m) drop lies below.

The building was renamed in the 1980s after General Electric (GE) re-acquired RCA, which it helped found in 1919. The famous Rainbow Room club restaurant is located on the 65th floor; the Rockefeller family office covers the 54-56th floors. The Rainbow Room is a well-known upscale Restaurant and Nightclub on the sixty-fifth floor of the GE Building in Rockefeller Center The skyscraper is the headquarters of NBC and houses most of the network's New York studios, including the legendary Studio 8H, home of Saturday Night Live. A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable Building. There is no official definition or a precise cutoff height above which a building may clearly be classified as a skyscraper The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Saturday Night Live ( SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute American Sketch comedy / Variety show based in New York City NBC currently owns the space it occupies in the building as a condominium arrangement.

Unlike most other Art Deco towers built during the 1930s, the GE Building was constructed as a slab with a flat roof, where the Center's newly renovated observation deck, the Top of the Rock^[13] is located, which was first built in 1933. An observation deck is a platform situated upon a tall architectural structure or natural feature The $75 million makeover of the observation area was carried out by the Center's owner, Tishman Speyer Properties and was finally completed in 2005. It spans from the 67-70th floors and includes a multimedia exhibition exploring the history of the Center. On the 70th floor, reached by both stairs and elevator, there is a 20-foot (6. 1 m) wide viewing area, allowing visitors a unique 360-degree panoramic view of New York City. ^[14]

At the front of 30 Rock is the Lower Plaza, in the very center of the complex, which is reached from 5th Avenue through the Channel Gardens and Promenade. The acclaimed sculptor Paul Manship was commissioned in 1933 to create a masterwork (see below) to adorn the central axis, below the famed annual Christmas tree, but all the other original plans to fill the space were abandoned over time. Paul Howard Manship ( December 24, 1885 &ndash January 28, 1966) was a prominent American sculptor of the 20th century The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is an annual tradition in New York City 's Rockefeller Center, and is lighted in early December or late-November an event broadcast It wasn't until Christmas Day in 1936 that the ice-skating rink was finally installed and the popular Center activity of ice-skating began. ^[15]

Center Art

Rockefeller Center contains, amongst many other corporate tenants, the New York headquarters of the world's biggest auction house by revenue, Christie's. Christie's is a leading art business and a fine arts Auction house The Center represents a turning point in the history of architectural sculpture: it is among the last major building projects in the United States to incorporate a program of integrated public art. Sculptor Lee Lawrie contributed the largest number of individual pieces — twelve — including the statue of Atlas facing Fifth Avenue and the conspicuous friezes above the main entrance to the RCA Building. Lee Oscar Lawrie ( October 16, 1877 - January 23, 1963) was one of the United States ' foremost architectural Sculptors In Greek mythology, Atlas (Eng /'æt ləs/ Gk Ἄτλας was the primordial Titan who supported the heavens In Architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an Entablature and may be plain or &ndash in the Ionic or Corinthian order &ndash

Paul Manship's highly recognizable bronze gilded statue of the Greek legend of the Titan Prometheus recumbent, bringing fire to mankind, features prominently in the sunken plaza at the front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Paul Howard Manship ( December 24, 1885 &ndash January 28, 1966) was a prominent American sculptor of the 20th century Gilding is the art of applying a thin layer of gold simulated gold or other metal to a surface In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Προμηθεύς "forethought" is a Titan known for his wily intelligence who stole Fire from Zeus The model for Prometheus was Leonardo (Leon) Nole, and the inscription from Aeschylus, on the granite wall behind, reads: "Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends. Aeschylus (ˈɛskɨləs or /ˈiːskɨləs/ Greek: Ασχύλος, Aischylos, 525 BC/524 BC 456 BC/455 BC was an ancient Greek Playwright " Although some sources cite it as the fourth-most familiar statue in the United States, behind the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty, Manship was not particularly fond or proud of it. The Lincoln Memorial is a United States Presidential memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, near Keystone, South Dakota, is a monumental Granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum (1867–1941 located Liberty Enlightening the World (La liberté éclairant le monde commonly known as the Statue of Liberty (Statue de la Liberté was presented

A large number of other artists contributed work at the Center, including Isamu Noguchi, whose gleaming stainless steel bas-relief, News, over the main entrance to 50 Rockefeller Plaza (the Associated Press Building) was a standout. was a prominent Japanese American Artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades from the 1920s onward A bas-relief (baʁəljɛf in French; French for "low relief" derived from the Italian basso rilievo) or low relief is a Sculpture The Associated Press ( AP) is an American News agency. The AP is a Cooperative owned by its contributing Newspapers radio At the time it was the largest metal bas-relief in the world. Other artists included Carl Milles, Hildreth Meiere, Margaret Bourke-White, Dean Cornwell, and Leo Friedlander. Carl Milles, born Carl Emil Wilhelm Andersson son of lieutenant Emil "Mille" Andersson and his wife Walborg Tisell, ( June 23 1875 Hildreth Meiere (1892 New York City – 1961 American artist architectural artist muralist and mosaicist Margaret Bourke-White (ˌbɜrkˈʍaɪt June 14, 1904 &ndash August 27, 1971) was an American photographer and Leo Friedlander ( July 6, 1890 - October 24, 1966) was an American sculptor who has made several prominent works

Famously, in 1932, the Mexican socialist artist Diego Rivera (whose sponsor was Museum of Modern Art and whose patron at the time was Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, the wife of John D. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Diego Rivera (December 8 1886 &ndash November 24 1957 was born Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, USA, on 53rd Street between Fifth Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, ( October 26, 1874 &ndash April 5, 1948) was a prominent socialite and Philanthropist and the second-generation Rockefeller, Jr. ), was commissioned by their son Nelson Rockefeller to create a color fresco for the 1,071-square-foot (99 m²) wall in the lobby of the then RCA Building. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller ( July 8, 1908 January 26, 1979) was the forty-first Vice President of the United States, the forty-ninth Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or This was after Nelson had been unable to secure the commissioning of either Matisse or Picasso. Henri Matisse (31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954 was a French Artist, known for his use of Colour and his fluid brilliant and original draughtsmanship Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso (October 25 1881 &ndash April 8 1973 Previously he had painted a controversial mural in Detroit entitled Detroit Industry, commissioned by Abby and John's friend, Edsel Ford, who later became a MoMA trustee. Edsel Bryant Ford ( November 6, 1893 &ndash May 26, 1943) son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, USA, on 53rd Street between Fifth

Thus it came as no real surprise when Rivera's Man at the Crossroads became controversial, as it contained Moscow May Day scenes and a clear portrait of Lenin, not apparent in initial sketches. Man at the Crossroads was a Mural by Diego Rivera. The Rockefellers wanted to have a mural put on the wall in Rockefeller Center. After Nelson issued a written warning to Rivera to replace the offending figure with an anonymous face, Rivera refused (after offering to counterbalance Lenin with a portrait of Lincoln), and so he was paid off and the mural papered over at the instigation of Nelson, who was to become the Center's flamboyant president. Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 &ndash April 15 1865 the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through its greatest internal Nine months later, after all attempts to save the fresco were explored—including relocating it to Abby's Museum of Modern Art—it was destroyed as a last option. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, USA, on 53rd Street between Fifth ^[16]

Rivera re-created the work later in Mexico City in modified form, from a photo taken by his wife, Frida Kahlo; in it he included the figure of John D. Mexico City (in Spanish: Ciudad de México, México DF, México or simply Méjico) is the Capital city of Mexico Frida Kahlo (July 6 1907 – July 13 1954 was a Mexican painter, who has achieved great international popularity Rockefeller, Jr. His fresco in the Center was replaced with a stunning, larger mural by the Spanish Catalan artist Jose Maria Sert, titled American Progress, depicting a vast allegorical scene of men constructing modern America. It contains the figures of Abraham Lincoln and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it is wrapped around the west wall of the Grand Lobby at 30 Rock. Abraham Lincoln (February 12 1809 &ndash April 15 1865 the sixteenth President of the United States, successfully led his country through its greatest internal Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25 1803 &ndash April 27 1882 was an American essayist philosopher poet and leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the early 19th century ^[17]

In 1962, a plaque was placed at the plaza with a list of principles in which John D. Rockefeller Jr. believed, first expressed by him in 1941. It begins with: "I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and includes a list of other lifelong beliefs encompassing free enterprise and religion.

Buildings

The landmark buildings comprise over 8,000,000 square feet (743,000 m²) on 22 acres in Midtown, bounded by Fifth and Sixth Avenues, and running from 48th Street to 51st Street. Rockefeller Center is also a private property open to the public, which is co-owned by Tishman-Speyer.

• One Rockefeller Plaza (608,000 sq ft)—originally the Time–Life Building; an original tenant was General Dynamics, for whom the building was briefly named. The Time-Life company was founded by Time Incorporated in 1961 as a book marketing division General Dynamics Corporation ( is a defense conglomerate formed by Mergers and Divestitures and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest Defense contractor
• 10 Rockefeller Plaza (288,000 sq ft)—Formerly the Eastern Air Lines Building. Eastern Air Lines was a major United States Airline that existed from the late 1920s until 1991 The Today Show studios are located there. Today, also referred to as The Today Show, is an American morning news and talk show airing weekday mornings on NBC.
• 30 Rockefeller Plaza: GE Building (2. The GE Building is an Art Deco Skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of the Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. 9 million square ft)—Formerly the RCA & RCA West Buildings
• 50 Rockefeller Plaza: Bank of America Building (481,000 sq ft)—Formerly the Associated Press Building
• 1230 Avenue of the Americas: Simon & Schuster Building (706,000 sq ft)—Formerly U. Banc of America Securities Bank of America () is the largest bank by asset and second largest commercial Bank by deposits and Market capitalization in United The Associated Press ( AP) is an American News agency. The AP is a Cooperative owned by its contributing Newspapers radio Simon & Schuster Inc, a division of CBS Corporation, is a Publisher founded in New York in 1924 by Richard L S. Rubber/Uniroyal
• 1260 Avenue of the Americas: Radio City Music Hall
• 1270 Avenue of the Americas (528,000 sq ft)—Originally the RKO Building, later the American Metal Climax (AMAX) Building
• 600 Fifth Avenue (409,000 sq ft)—Formerly the Sinclair Oil Building
• 610 Fifth Avenue: La Maison Francaise (130,000 sq ft)
• 620 Fifth Avenue: British Empire Building (130,600 sq ft)
• 626 Fifth Avenue: Palazzo d'Italia (120,000 sq ft)
• 630 Fifth Avenue: International Building (1. Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City 's Rockefeller Center. 2 million square ft)
• 636 Fifth Avenue: International Building North (120,000 sq ft)

The above buildings, which are east of Sixth Avenue, are managed by Tishman-Speyer, which co-owns Rockefeller Center. The building to the west of Sixth Avenue are managed and/or co-owned by the Japanese-owned Rockefeller Group:

• 1271 Avenue of the Americas (Time-Life Building)
• 1251 Avenue of the Americas (Originally the Standard Oil [NJ] Building, later Exxon Building)
• 1221 Avenue of the Americas (McGraw-Hill Building)
• 1211 Avenue of the Americas (Originally the Celanese Building, sometimes know as the News Corp. Building)
• 740 Seventh Avenue (Lehman Brothers Building): Building owned by Lehman Brothers, the land by the Rockefeller Group.
• 1251 & 1211 are independently owned and are only managed by the Rockefeller Group.

Former buildings

• Center Theater (formerly the RKO Roxy Theater; the only building in the orginal Rockefeller Center to be demolished)
• 75 Rockefeller Plaza (originally the Esso Building, later the Time Warner Building)
• AXA Equitable Building (formerly the Sperry Rand Building), 1290 Avenue of Americas
• Hilton New York Hotel & Towers
• For a short time in the late 1950s, the Center also owned the original Roxy Theater. Sperry Corporation (1910-1986 was a major American equipment and Electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the twentieth century This was done to obtain the air-right to build the Time & Life Building. Once the building went up, the theater was sold and replaced by an office building. This building, while not part of the Center, is now connected to the Time & Life Building through various stairways & doors.

The underground Concourse

One of the little known but fascinating parts of Rockefeller Center is the underground Concourse. This interconnected series of pedestrian passages stretches from 47th Street to 51st Street, and from 5th Avenue to 7th Avenue. 51st Street is a 19 mile long one-way Street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan. Around the skating rink, access is usually through stairways from the lobbies in the cluster of six landmark buildings. Access can also be gained through the restaurants at the skating rink, via the elevators to the north and south of the rink. The rink itself is on the concourse level.

The longest straight section of concourse is under the sidewalk on the west side of Avenue of the Americas. Sixth Avenue is a major Avenue in New York City 's borough of Manhattan. Here the pedestrian can descend using stairways inside and in front of the Time & Life Building, 1251 Avenue of the Americas, the McGraw Hill Building and 1211 Avenue of the Americas. The corridor east of the avenue to 1290 Avenue of Americas was closed in the late 1970s.

The concourse, New York's largest underground city, contains retail shops, fast food and fine dining. An underground city is a network of Tunnels that connect buildings beneath street level The most interesting areas are the horseshoe corridor around the skating rink, and the two parallel shopping corridors just West from there, under 30 Rockefeller Plaza. In bad weather these corridors offer a convenient way to move between the Rockefeller buildings. There is also access to the B, D, F and V subway lines along 6th Avenue, and the N, R and W station at 7th Avenue and 49th Street (reached by following a winding corridor under the fountain pool, 1251 Avenue of the Americas, and 745 Seventh Avenue). The southern end of the concourse opens into the public area of the 6th Avenue subway station at 47th street.

Flags

At street level, the plaza has about 200 flagpoles. Memorial Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (on May in) At varying intervals, the flags of United Nations member countries, the flags of United States states and territories, or various decorative and seasonal flags are flown; during U. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security This article lists the member states of the United Nations (UN. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government United States territory is any extent of Region under the Jurisdiction of the federal Government of the United States, including all S. holidays, every flagpole carries the Flag of the United States. Flags of the United States The Flag of the United States of America consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of Red (top and bottom alternating

Small parks

Two small parks are also part of western Rockefeller Center. Garden Park is located mid-block between 50th Street and 49th Street, behind 1251 Avenue of the Americas. McGraw-Hill Park is located mid-block between 49th and 48th Streets, behind the McGraw Hill building. They form the northern end of a string of mid-block parks that continue further downtown beyond Rockefeller Center. A not-to-be-missed sight is the walk-through fountain in McGraw-Hill park, which flows down a wall mid-park and is pierced by a circular pedestrian pass-through.

Gallery

Lower Plaza of Rockefeller Center in March 2006.	The GE Building at night	View north from 30 Rock's Top of the Rock.	Christmas at Rockefeller Center
Prometheus at Rockefeller Center	Statue of Atlas	Ice Skating rink

See also

• Architecture in New York City
• 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center (IND Sixth Avenue Line)

Notes and references

Further reading

• Balfour, Alan. Rockefeller Center: Architecture as Theater, New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. , 1978.
• Deal, Martha. "Who Posed for the Statue of Prometheus" (Ray Van Cleef and Leon Nole). Iron Game History. Volume 6, Issue 4, Pages 34–35.
• Harr, John Ensor, and Peter J. Johnson. The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988.
• Karp, Walter. The Center: A History and Guide to Rockefeller Center, New York: American Heritage Publishing Company, Inc. , 1982.
• Krinsky, Carol Herselle. Rockefeller Center, New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.
• Loth, David G. The City Within a City: The Romance of Rockefeller Center, New York: Morrow, 1966.
• Okrent, Daniel. Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center, New York: Viking Press, 2003.
• Reich, Cary. The Life of Nelson A. Rockefeller: Worlds to Conquer 1908–1958, New York: Doubleday, 1996.
• Roussel, Christine. The Art of Rockefeller Center, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.

External links

• Guide to Rockefeller Center
• Top Of The Rock Photo Gallery
• The Rockefeller Group
• Rockefeller Center Webcam
• How to Ruin a Safe Bet; Did Rockefeller Center Financiers Reach Too Far? A 1995 New York Times article analyzing the REIT and the sale of Rockefeller Center.
• Ralph Hancock Landscape Gardner
• Rockefeller Group Business Centers Rockefeller Group Business Centers is a provider of furnished serviced office space on a long or short term basis.
• Pictures of Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock
• Rockefeller Center Channel Garden Fountains
• Rockefeller Center on Google Street View

Google Street View is a feature of Google Maps and Google Earth that provides 360° Panoramic street-level views and allows users to view parts of selected

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