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209-502: Some of LXTV's programs include 1st Look , Open House , Open House NYC and George to the Rescue , which presents lifestyle programming to a young affluent audience. LXTV also created and launched New York Live (formerly LX New York), the live, daily lifestyle show on WNBC, broadcast from Studio 3K in 30 Rockefeller Plaza and live from the streets in and around New York. Originally branded as Code.TV, and focused on web distribution,

418-619: A Gothic -inspired style. influenced the design of the rest of the complex. The first story is clad with Deer Island granite to a height of 4 ft (1.2 m). The remainder of the facade contains Indiana Limestone and aluminum spandrel panels. Some 212,000 cubic feet (6,000 m ) of limestone, 4,100 cubic feet (120 m ) of granite, and 6,000 spandrels were used in the construction. The limestone covered 600,000 square feet (56,000 m ). The limestone blocks are laid slightly irregularly and contain striations for visual effect. In addition, 10.38 million bricks were integrated into

627-448: A marquee and two works of art on its exterior. The recessed entrance portal is filled with a 79 by 14 ft (24.1 by 4.3 m) mosaic mural, Intelligence Awakening Mankind by Barry Faulkner . The portal is topped by four 11.5 by 4 ft (3.5 by 1.2 m) limestone panels by Gaston Lachaise , each of which signifies an aspect of civilization as it related to the original Radio City complex. The two panels on either side of

836-416: A mass media entertainment complex on the site. By May 1930, RCA and its affiliates had made an agreement with Rockefeller Center managers. RCA would lease 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m ) of studio space; get naming rights to the western part of the development; and develop four theaters, at a cost of $ 4.25 million per year. A skyscraper at 30 Rockefeller Plaza's current site was first proposed in

1045-406: A "patriot" for jump-starting the city's economy with the construction project. Rockefeller made an effort to form amicable relationships with Rockefeller Center's workers. Even when Rockefeller had to reduce wages for his union workers , he was praised for not reducing wages as severely as did other construction firms, many of which were either struggling or going bankrupt. At the time, the complex

1254-629: A 10 ft (3.0 m) tall Comcast wordmark and NBC logo on the northern and southern elevations, as well as a 17 ft (5.2 m) NBC logo on the building's western elevation. In 1960, a 12-foot-wide (3.7 m), 400-pound (180 kg) weather radar dish for the National Weather Service was installed atop the roof when the building became the NWS's headquarters. KWO35 , the NOAA Weather Radio station serving

1463-451: A 27-year lease for the site from Columbia, with the option for three 21-year renewals, such that the lease could theoretically last until 2015. (The lease was renewed in 1953 and 1973, and Columbia sold the land to Rockefeller Center Inc. in 1985. ) Moreover, Rockefeller could avoid any rent increases for forty-five years, adjusted for inflation. The lease did not include the 100-foot-wide (30 m) strip of land bordering Sixth Avenue on

1672-488: A 60-story building in the center block for RCA (the current 30 Rockefeller Plaza ). Todd suggested that this large tower be placed on Sixth Avenue because the Sixth Avenue Elevated would reduce the value of any other properties at the west end of the complex. On Fifth Avenue there would be a short oval-shaped retail building, whose top floors would be occupied by Chase National Bank offices. There would be

1881-557: A Metropolitan Opera House on the site persisted. Official plans for a facility to the east of the RKO Roxy were filed in April 1932; the projected 4,042-seat opera facility would contain features such as a second-floor esplanade extending across 50th Street. However, the Met was unable to fund such a move, so the proposed new opera house was relegated to tentative status. In September 1931,

2090-563: A complex of internationally themed structures along Fifth Avenue. All structures in the original complex were designed in the Art Deco architectural style. Excavation of the site started in April 1931, and construction began that September on the first buildings. The first edifice was opened in September 1932, and most of the complex was completed by 1935. The final three buildings were built between 1936 and 1940, although Rockefeller Center

2299-456: A cost of over $ 3 million per year (equivalent to $ 42.1 million in 2023), thereby allowing all the existing leases on the site to expire by November 1931 so Rockefeller could purchase them. Rockefeller would pay $ 3.6 million per year (equivalent to $ 50.5 million in 2023). In return, he would be entitled to the income from the property, which at the time was about $ 300,000 annually (equivalent to $ 4.2 million in 2023). This consisted of

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2508-590: A group of NBC managers and architects toured Europe to find performers and look at theater designs. However, the group did not find any significant architectural details that they could use in the Radio City theaters. In any case, Roxy's friend Peter B. Clark turned out to have much more innovative designs for the proposed theaters than the Europeans did. The Music Hall was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone and interior designer Donald Deskey in

2717-482: A highly visible lobby mural, and Pablo Picasso had refused to even meet with Hood and Todd. Installation of the exterior stonework began in July 1932 and proceeded at a rate of 2,000 cubic feet (57 m ) per day. Window installation began the same month. The building's structural steel was up to the 64th floor by September 16, 1932. The photograph Lunch atop a Skyscraper was taken on September 20, 1932, during

2926-430: A larger one for movies; and another theater, larger still, for vaudeville . Under the plan, the demolition of the site's existing structures would start later in the year, and the complex would be complete by 1933. This plan had not been disclosed to the general public prior to the announcement, and even John Rockefeller Jr. was surprised by the $ 350 million cost estimate (equivalent to $ 5.08 billion in 2023), since

3135-430: A meeting with Young. The RCA founder was enthusiastic about the project, expressing his vision for a complex that, according to Daniel Okrent, contained "an opera house, a concert hall, a Shakespeare theater—and both broadcast studios and office space for RCA and its affiliated companies". RCA president David Sarnoff would join the negotiations in early 1930. Sarnoff immediately recognized Radio City's potential to affect

3344-424: A mythology and symbology professor who oversaw Rockefeller Center's art program, led the installation of artwork throughout the complex. The building's artwork was designed around the concept of "new frontiers", depicting modern society. The massing of 30 Rockefeller Plaza is designed in three parts. The easternmost section contains a 66-story tower with two stories of retail on the west and east. The tower

3553-469: A noted mythology and symbology professor, was tasked with planning the complex's arts installations. Alexander submitted his plan for the site's artwork in December 1932. As part of the proposal, the complex would have a variety of sculptures, statues, murals, friezes, decorative fountains, and mosaics. Expanding upon Hood's setback-garden plan, Alexander's proposal also included rooftop gardens atop all

3762-461: A paneled bronze screen. The doors are topped by a cast-glass wall designed by Lee Lawrie, which measures 15 feet (4.6 m) high by 55 feet (17 m) wide. The wall is made of 240 glass blocks. Each glass block measures 3 inches (76 mm) deep and 19 by 29 inches (480 by 740 mm) across. Opposite the main entrance doors is an information desk made of Champlain gray marble. Four large ivory-marble piers with embedded light fixtures support

3971-529: A plaza between the oval building and RCA's building, and a restaurant atop the former. A transcontinental bus terminal would be built underground to entice tenants who might otherwise rent near Penn Station or Grand Central. Plan H-1 was approved in June 1930. In the middle of the month, The New York Times announced the plans for the "Radio City" project between 48th Street, 51st Street, Fifth Avenue, and Sixth Avenue. Additional details were released: for example,

4180-626: A plot on Sixth Avenue and 50th Street at 30 Rockefeller Plaza's northwest corner, never received a sale offer due to a misunderstanding. The grocer John F. Maxwell would only sell his property at 50th Street if he received $ 1 million. Because of a miscommunication, the Rockefeller family was told that Maxwell would never sell, and Maxwell himself said that he had never been approached by the Rockefellers. Consequently, Maxwell kept his property until his death in 1962, upon which Columbia bought

4389-467: A private dining room. The western part houses Bar SixtyFive and an outdoor terrace. The dining room itself is a 4,464-square-foot (414.7 m ) space. The restaurant has a 32-foot-wide (9.8 m) rotating dance floor. The seats of the Rainbow Room are organized in tiers, and there is also a platform for bands and a shallow balcony for entertainers. There are stairs and a dumbwaiter behind

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4598-520: A private project of this size was unprecedented. Since Rockefeller had invested large sums of money in the stock market, his wealth declined sharply as a result of the 1929 stock market crash. In September 1930, Rockefeller and Todd started looking for funding to construct the buildings; and by November they secured a tentative funding agreement with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. In March 1931, this agreement

4807-457: A public "Metropolitan Avenue", which would run from 42nd to 59th streets. The avenue would break up the 920-foot-long (280 m) distance between Fifth and Sixth avenues, which was the longest gap between two numbered avenues in Manhattan. This was not a new proposal, as Mayor William Jay Gaynor had posited a similar avenue from 34th to 59th Streets in 1910, and Wistar himself had proposed

5016-596: A sense of energy, a sense of purpose", according to architecture expert Alan Balfour . A subsequent change to the zoning resolution in 1931, shortly after the Empire State Building opened, increased the maximum speed of New York City buildings' elevators from 700 feet per minute (210 m/min) to 1,200 feet per minute (370 m/min), ostensibly as a result of lobbying from the Rockefeller family. This allowed Rockefeller Center's designers to reduce

5225-581: A shrub-and-vegetable patch. The garden was staffed by hostesses who wore costumes, and the plantings lit up at night. Ralph Hancock and Raymond Hood designed the rooftop garden, one of several in the complex. Upon opening, the Garden of the Nations attracted many visitors because of its collection of exotic flora, and it became the most popular garden in Rockefeller Center. In its heyday,

5434-515: A slab with setbacks primarily for aesthetic value. The facade is made of limestone , with granite at the base, as well as about 6,000 windows separated by aluminum spandrels . In addition to its offices and studios, 30 Rockefeller Plaza contains the Rainbow Room restaurant and an observation deck called Top of the Rock. 30 Rockefeller Plaza also includes numerous artworks and formerly contained

5643-512: A two-story space for a dining room with a high ceiling. Frank W. Darling quit his job as head of Rye's Playland to direct the programming for the proposed amusement space. In July 1933, the managers opened an observation deck atop the RCA Building, which consisted of 190 by 21 ft (57.9 by 6.4 m) terraces on the 67th, 69th, and 70th floors. The 40-cents-per-head observation deck saw 1,300 daily visitors by late 1935. Meanwhile,

5852-483: A wave of blunt, negative criticism from private citizens; newspapers, such as the New York Herald Tribune ; and architects, including both Frank Lloyd Wright and Ralph Adams Cram , whose styles were diametrically opposed to each other. The New York Times took note of the "universal condemnation" of the proposal, and after the complex's architects changed their plans in response to the criticism,

6061-422: A window, which was the maximum distance that sunlight could directly penetrate the interior of a building at New York City's latitude. At the time, air-conditioned office buildings were rare, and the sunlit offices provided comfortable accommodations, as opposed to offices in many older buildings, which were dark and cramped. During late 1930 and early 1931, the plans were revised and streamlined. March 1931 saw

6270-419: A year to maintain by 1942. The mechanical core also contains emergency-exit staircases, though there are fewer staircases on upper floors. For example, building plans indicate that the 12th story has three sets of emergency staircases, while the 60th story has two sets of staircases. The lobby's main entrance is from Rockefeller Plaza to the east, with revolving and double-leaf bronze-and-glass doors underneath

6479-422: Is Studio 6B, which hosted Texaco Star Theater , the first comedy-variety show on television to become popular. The Tonight Show was also broadcast from Studio 6B until 1972, returning there in 2014 under the name The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon . Tonight ' s companion program, Late Night (branded Late Night with Seth Meyers since 2014 ) is also taped in the building. The Today Show

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6688-456: Is made of brass-and-terrazzo mosaic. The walls of these corridors are paneled in Champlain marble below the height of the storefronts and elevator doors. A bronze molding runs above the storefronts and elevators, while the walls are made of plaster above that height. The outer walls of the west–east corridors (adjacent to the mezzanines) contain bronze service doors, while the inner walls and

6897-601: Is on one of Columbia University 's former campuses and is bounded by Fifth Avenue to the east, Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) to the west, 48th Street to the south, and 51st Street to the north. The center occupies 22 acres (8.9 ha) in total, with some 17 million square feet (1.6 million square meters) of office space. Columbia University had acquired the site in the early 19th century but had moved to Morningside Heights in Upper Manhattan in

7106-449: Is surrounded by a shorter U-shaped section to the north, west, and south. Some sources give 30 Rockefeller Plaza's height as 70 stories, but this arises from a hyperbolic press release by Merle Crowell, the complex's publicist during construction. At the middle of the site was a windowless nine-story section, which housed NBC's studios. The western part of the site steps up again to a 16-story tower. The western section at 1250 Avenue of

7315-557: Is the Lower Plaza. The building is assigned its own ZIP Code , 10112; it was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes as of 2019 . Across Sixth Avenue, the building faces 1221 Avenue of the Americas to the southwest, 1251 Avenue of the Americas to the west, and 1271 Avenue of the Americas to the northwest. Radio City Music Hall , 1270 Avenue of the Americas , and 50 Rockefeller Plaza are directly to

7524-486: Is the headquarters of NBC and houses NBC Studios , NBC News , MSNBC , and network flagship station WNBC . 30 Rockefeller Plaza also contains offices for NBCUniversal Cable and, until 1988, the NBC Radio Network . Part of NBC's space also extends into the central part of the building. The superstructure uses 58,500 short tons (52,200 long tons; 53,100 t) of steel. To transport visitors to

7733-507: The Art Deco style. Eugene Schoen was selected to design the RKO Roxy. In December 1931, the Rockefeller Center Corporation put forth its expanded plans for the underground pedestrian mall. It would now include a series of people mover tunnels, similar to the U.S. Capitol subway , which would link the complex to locations such as Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station . A smaller, scaled-down version of

7942-555: The Comcast Building ; formerly RCA Building and GE Building ) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City , United States. Completed in 1933, the 66-story, 850 ft (260 m) building was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood , Rockefeller Center's lead architect. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was known for its main tenant,

8151-536: The Metropolitan Opera . By 1928, Benjamin Wistar Morris and designer Joseph Urban were hired to come up with blueprints for the house. However, the new building was too expensive for the opera to fund by itself, and it needed an endowment . The project ultimately gained the support of John D. Rockefeller Jr. The planned opera house was canceled in December 1929 due to various issues, with

8360-476: The Prohibition Era had banned all sales of alcoholic beverages. Although the more tenuous of these speakeasies quickly moved elsewhere at the mere mention of formal eviction proceedings, other tenants, including some of the brothels , were harder to evict. Many tenants only moved on certain conditions; and in one case, the firms acquired a lease from the estate of the late gambler Arnold Rothstein , who

8569-538: The Radio Corporation of America (RCA), from its opening in 1933 until 1988 and then for General Electric until 2015, when it was renamed for its current owner, Comcast . The building also houses the headquarters and New York studios of television network NBC ; the headquarters is sometimes called 30 Rock , a nickname that inspired the NBC sitcom of the same name . The tallest structure in Rockefeller Center,

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8778-577: The Times stated, "It is cheering to learn that the architects and builders of Radio City have been stirred by the public criticism of their plans." Despite the controversy over the complex's design, Rockefeller retained the Associated Architects for his project. The oval-shaped retail building on Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets was criticized for not fitting in with the rest of Fifth Avenue's architecture, with critics referring to

8987-462: The new opera house eventually being built at Lincoln Center , opening in 1966. With the lease still in effect, Rockefeller had to quickly devise new plans so that the three-block Columbia site could become profitable. Raymond Hood , Rockefeller Center's lead architect, came up with the idea to negotiate with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and its subsidiaries, National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) , to build

9196-991: The "New York Sun". LXTV was acquired in January 2008 by Local Media After NBC Weather Plus was shut down in late 2008, WNBC launched a replacement programming of local information, news and livestyle as NBC New York Nonstop in March 2009 using LXTV programs. In late 2010 and early 2011, eight more NBC O&O stations adopted the Nonstop digital subchannel format including the three California as one network. Each stations' Nonstop subchannel has eight hours of local programming along with core programming from affiliated production company's, LXTV: Talk Stoop , First Look and Open House. On September 23, 2019, NBCU Owned Television Stations launched its LX digital news brand for original content for which LXTV would provide programming. 30 Rockefeller Plaza 30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially

9405-430: The $ 200 million cost projection for the three skyscrapers (equivalent to $ 2.9 billion in 2023 ). To provide space for the plaza, 49th and 50th streets would be covered over, and there would be parking structures both above- and underground, while the streets surrounding the project would be widened to accommodate the heavy traffic. Four theaters would also be built: two small theaters for television, comedy, and drama;

9614-450: The 1890s and subsequently became a popular meeting place for NBC performers and executives. The restaurant was later connected by a direct passageway to 30 Rockefeller Plaza's studios. Rockefeller Center acquired the building in the mid-20th century and ended the restaurant's lease in 1975, but the new lessees continued to run Hurley's until 1999. As of March 2022 , the holdout building contains Pebble Bar. The other tenant, who occupied

9823-549: The 65th floor. The remaining 5,824 were casement windows measuring 4 by 6 feet (1.2 by 1.8 m). About 5,200 of these windows contained Venetian blinds, which were installed by the Mackin Venetian Blind Company. At street level, the stonework is relatively sparsely decorated. The main entrance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza was designed as a loggia of three arches: one at the center, measuring 37 feet (11 m) high by 14 feet (4.3 m) wide, and two on

10032-419: The 69th-story terrace. As of 2024 , the 70th story includes a rotating "skylift" ride, as well as spherical rooftop beacon and floor tiles with a celestial pattern. The construction of Rockefeller Center occurred between 1932 and 1940 on land that John D. Rockefeller Jr. leased from Columbia University . The Rockefeller Center site was originally supposed to be occupied by a new opera house for

10241-472: The Americas ) to the west, 50th Street to the north, Rockefeller Plaza to the east, and 49th Street to the south. The site has a frontage of 545 ft (166 m) on 49th and 50th Streets and a frontage of 175.46 ft (53 m) on Sixth Avenue. The main entrance is on Rockefeller Plaza, a private pedestrian street running through the complex, parallel to Fifth and Sixth Avenues. In front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza's main entrance, below ground level,

10450-569: The Americas). At the time, the land was sparsely occupied and consisted mostly of forest. Hosack opened the Elgin Botanic Garden , the country's first public botanical garden , on the site in 1804. The garden would operate until 1811, when Hosack put the land on sale for $ 100,000 (equivalent to $ 1,831,000 in 2023 ). As no one was willing to buy the land, the New York State Legislature eventually bought

10659-505: The Americas, formerly also known as RCA Building West, is accessed mainly from Sixth Avenue. The facade of the annex rises straight from the sidewalk, with notches at the corners, because the corner lots were private properties at the time of the building's construction in 1935. The massing was influenced by the 1916 Zoning Resolution , which restricted the height that the street-side exterior walls of New York City buildings could rise before they needed to incorporate setbacks that recessed

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10868-521: The Art Deco style. Developed as part of the construction of Rockefeller Center , 30 Rockefeller Plaza opened in 1933 as the RCA Building. 30 Rockefeller Plaza is 872 ft (266 m) tall and was built as a single structure occupying the entire block between Sixth Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza. As of December 2023 , the building is the 31st tallest in New York City and the 65th tallest in

11077-428: The Associated Architects. Hood, Corbett, Harrison, Reinhard, and Hofmeister were generally considered to be the principal architects . They mostly communicated with Todd, Robertson and Todd, rather than with Rockefeller himself. Hugh Ferriss and John Wenrich were hired as "architectural renderers", to produce drawings of the proposed buildings based on the Associated Architects' blueprints. Rene Paul Chambellan

11286-540: The Center charged admission fees for the Garden of the Nations. However, the nation-themed gardens were demolished by 1938, and the rock garden was left to dry up, supplanted by flower beds that were not open to the public. In 1936, the central roof temporarily housed a prototype of an apartment, which was used to advertise the Rockefeller Apartments between 54th and 55th Streets. From 1937 onward,

11495-471: The Crossroads controversy, Nelson scaled back his involvement with the complex's art, and his father began scrutinizing all of the artworks thereafter commissioned for the center. One of the sculptor Attilio Piccirilli 's works at Rockefeller Center would also be contested, albeit not until after the complex was finished. He had created bas-relief carvings above the entrances of Palazzo d'Italia and

11704-505: The Crossroads .) Nelson issued a written warning to Rivera to replace the offending figure with an anonymous face, but Rivera refused, so in mid-1933, Rivera was paid for his commission and workers covered the mural with paper. The fresco was demolished completely in February 1934, and it was subsequently replaced by Josep Maria Sert 's American Progress mural. As a result of the Man at

11913-634: The International Building North. Piccirilli's relief on the Palazzo d'Italia was removed in 1941 because the panels were seen as an overt celebration of fascism , but his International Building North panels were allowed to remain. During early planning, the development was often referred to as "Radio City". Before the announcement that the development would include a mass media complex, there were also other appellations such as "Rockefeller City" and "Metropolitan Square" (after

12122-657: The March 1930 version of the complex's blueprint, and the current dimensions of the tower were finalized in March 1931. The skyscraper would be named for RCA as part of the agreement; the RCA name became official in May 1932. The designs for Radio City Music Hall and the RCA Building were submitted to the New York City Department of Buildings in August 1931, by which time both buildings were to open in 1932. Work on

12331-589: The Met would not have any funds until after they sold their existing building by April, Heydt suggested that the Metropolitan Square Corporation buy the leases instead, in case the Met ultimately did not have money to relocate. The Met felt that the cost of the new opera house would far exceed the potential profits. They wanted to sell their existing facility and move into the proposed new opera house by 1931, which meant that all existing leases would need to be resolved by May 1930. Otherwise,

12540-527: The Met's president, had been seeking to erect a new opera house since he assumed the position in 1908. However, the Met did not itself have money to fund the new facility, and Kahn's efforts to solicit funding from R. Fulton Cutting , the wealthy and influential Cooper Union president, were unsuccessful. Cutting did support the 1926 proposal for a new building, as did William Kissam Vanderbilt . By mid-1927, Kahn had hired architect Benjamin Wistar Morris and designer Joseph Urban to come up with designs for

12749-488: The Metropolitan Square Corporation). Ivy Lee suggested changing the name to "Rockefeller Center". John Rockefeller Jr. 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 name was formally changed in December 1931. Rockefeller Jr. and The New York Times originally spelled

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12958-476: The Municipal Art Exhibition space shortly afterward after Nelson Rockefeller became a trustee of the museum. Subsequently, Edward Durell Stone removed the partitions on the second floor of the exhibition space, and the museum opened there in February 1936. The central wall of the main lobby remained empty until 1937, when Jose Maria Sert's American Progress was installed. At the time,

13167-404: The NBC lobby. The stair to the basement contains Champlain marble and ivory marble, while the stair to the mezzanine contains Champlain marble and bronze railings and moldings. Additional stairs to the basement and mezzanine are placed at the point where the corridors continue into 1250 Avenue of the Americas; they also contain Champlain marble and bronze railings and moldings. Josep Maria Sert

13376-484: The National Weather Service. The mezzanine level also contained a control room, from which all of Rockefeller Center's mechanical systems could be monitored. When the building was constructed, RCA's chief engineer O. B. Hanson was faced with designing an area of the building that was large enough to host 35 studios with as few structural columns as possible. As such, the studios were all placed in

13585-435: The RCA Building was 84 percent leased. By 1938, the NBC studios at the RCA Building received 700,000 annual visitors, while the observation deck had 430,000 annual visitors. Two 24- ton cooling machines were installed in the basement of the RCA Building in 1940. The air-conditioning units supplemented the RCA Building's existing units and also served 1230 Sixth Avenue, 10 Rockefeller Plaza, and 1 Rockefeller Plaza. The lobby

13794-676: The RCA Building's early years, NBC housed both the Red Network and the Blue Network (now ABC ) there, and WJZ-TV (now WABC-TV ) and WJZ Radio (now WABC ), as well as the headquarters of the ABC network, were also headquartered there for the first few years until ABC built their own facilities. When the building opened, it also hosted daily tours of the NBC Studios; the tours were canceled in 1977 due to declining attendance. NBC

14003-545: The RCA Building, which was 90 percent complete; the upper floors were mostly finished, but the base was still incomplete. As late as April 24, more than 1,000 workers were still fitting out the RCA Building. As a result of the Depression, building costs were cheaper than projected. The final cost of the first ten buildings, including the RCA Building, came to $ 102 million (equivalent to $ 1.8 billion in 2023 dollars ). Todd, Robertson, Todd Engineering Corporation, which

14212-427: The RCA Building. This suggestion was not considered further because, as with the diagonal-streets plan, it would have involved decommissioning streets. Eventually, all of the plans were streamlined into a more traditional design, with narrow rectangular slabs, set back from the street, on all of the blocks. Hood created a guideline that all of the office space in the complex would be no more than 27 feet (8.2 m) from

14421-430: The Rock is accessed from its own entrance on 50th Street, where two elevators (converted from freight elevator shafts) ascend to the 67th floor. The shafts are illuminated, while the elevator cabs contain ceiling panels with historical photographs. There is a double-height indoor observatory on the 67th floor, where escalators lead to the 69th floor. A 8.5-foot-tall (2.6 m) parapet of frameless safety glass runs around

14630-492: The Rock, the 70th-story observation deck atop the skyscraper, opened in 1933 and is 850 feet (260 m) above street level. In addition to the deck, the attraction includes a triple-story observatory on the 67th to 69th floors. Top of the Rock competes with the 86th-floor observation deck of the Empire State Building 200 feet (61 m) higher, as well as a distant view of the Empire State Building. Top of

14839-512: The Rock, when it reopened after a renovation by Gabellini Sheppard Associates . The original limestone and cast aluminum architectural details were conserved. In 2011, the observation deck had 2.5 million visitors a year and grossed $ 25 million. On the 69th story is the Beam, a ride themed to the photograph Lunch Atop a Skyscraper . The ride faces Billionaires' Row to the north; it can fit seven riders, and it rotates 12 feet (3.7 m) above

15048-481: The Rockefeller Foundation head, placed the figure at 225,000 people, including workers who created materials for the complex elsewhere. When construction started, the city was feeling the full effects of the Depression, with over 750,000 people unemployed and 64% of all construction workers without a job. At the Depression's peak in the mid-1930s, John Rockefeller Jr. was praised as a job creator and

15257-440: The Rockefeller family's Standard Oil Company moved into the RCA Building in 1934. NBC was one of the first tenants in the new RCA Building and, with 35 studios packed into the base, it was also one of the largest tenants. Westinghouse moved into the 14th through 17th floors of the RCA Building, receiving the contract for the building's elevators as a result. American Cyanamid took four floors and part of another. Other space

15466-500: The Rockefellers' offices resembled an "18th-century English baronial mansion". The space was decorated with art by Paul Gauguin , Piet Mondrian , Paul Signac , and Joan Miró . By 1937, there were 392 employees of Room 5600. After World War II, Room 5600 comprised the entire 54th through 56th floors. The family offices became a hub for the family's political activity, with ties to both the Democratic and Republican parties at

15675-573: The Sixth Avenue parcels, as compared to the $ 6 million (equivalent to $ 87 million in 2023 dollars ) budgeted for the task. The tenants of two Sixth Avenue properties were ultimately allowed to stay. One lessee, who occupied a plot on the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue and 50th Street, never received a sale offer due to a misunderstanding. The owners of the other parcel, on the northeast corner of Sixth Avenue and 49th Street, demanded an exorbitant price for their property. 30 Rockefeller Plaza

15884-528: The Underel Corporation had acquired the land near Sixth Avenue. The leases for the newly acquired land contained specific stipulations on how it was to be used. Under this new proposal, there would be facilities for "television, music, radio, talking pictures and plays". RCA planned to build theaters on the north and south blocks near Sixth Avenue, with office buildings above the theaters' Sixth Avenue sides. The theater entrances would be built to

16093-580: The United States . The design was influenced by Rockefeller Center manager John Todd's desire for the building to use its air rights to their maximum potential. 30 Rockefeller Plaza rises to a flat roof, unlike some of the other skyscrapers built in New York City around the same time. These included the Chrysler Building , 70 Pine Street , and 40 Wall Street , which used spires to reach their maximum heights. Hartley Burr Alexander ,

16302-403: The United States for decades, though it was closed during much of the 1940s. The most recent version of the restaurant opened in 2014 after a restoration by Gabellini Sheppard Associates. The Rainbow Room occupies the eastern part of 30 Rockefeller Plaza's 65th floor, which covers 13,500 square feet (1,250 m ). The central part of the floor has elevator banks, restrooms, a gallery , and

16511-461: The announcement of Plan F-18, which called for an International Music Hall (now Radio City Music Hall ) and its 31-story office building annex to occupy the northernmost of the three blocks, between 50th and 51st streets. The 66-story 831-foot (253 m) RCA Building would be on the central block's western half, between 49th and 50th streets, and would house RCA and NBC offices as well as broadcasting studios. The oval-shaped retail complex would occupy

16720-574: The area became synonymous with wealth. By 1879, there were brownstones on every one of the 203 plots in the Upper Estate, which were all owned by Columbia. The construction of the Sixth Avenue elevated line in the 1870s made it easy to access commercial and industrial areas elsewhere in Manhattan. However, the line also drastically reduced property values because the elevated structure obstructed views from adjacent properties, and because

16929-438: The as-yet-unconfirmed proposal, and others lambasting the location of the tall skyscrapers around the plaza. Daniel Okrent writes that "almost everyone" hated the updated plans. The renowned architectural scholar Lewis Mumford went into exile in upstate New York specifically because the "weakly conceived, reckless, romantic chaos" of the plans for Rockefeller Center had violated his sense of style. Mumford's commentary provoked

17138-446: The avenue in 1928 or 1929. If built, Metropolitan Avenue would have facilitated traffic through Rockefeller Center, in a manner similar to how Vanderbilt Avenue between Madison and Park Avenues had assisted traffic flow around nearby Grand Central Terminal . Ultimately, only the section between 48th and 51st streets was built; it now comprises Rockefeller Plaza , a pedestrian street. Both Raymond Hood and John Todd believed that

17347-470: The block's eastern half, with a rooftop garden . A RKO-operated sound theater would be in the southernmost block between 48th and 49th streets. In the center of Radio City would be a new three-block-long private street running between Fifth and Sixth avenues, with a concave plaza at the midpoint. The complex would also include space for a future Metropolitan Opera venue on the northernmost block. An underground pedestrian shopping mall , which would be above

17556-448: The blueprints were presented in May of that year. All of the proposals called for rentable space of 4 to 5 million square feet (370,000 to 460,000 m ), but these plans were so eccentric that the board rejected all of them. For the time being, Morris was retained until a more suitable architect could be found. However, by the end of 1928, Morris had been fired without pay. He was eventually paid $ 50,000 for his contributions to

17765-416: The building is the 28th tallest in New York City and the 65th tallest in the United States , and was the third tallest building in the world when it opened. 30 Rockefeller Plaza's massing consists of three parts: the main 66-story tower to the east, a windowless section at the center, and a 16-story annex to the west. The building's design conforms with the 1916 Zoning Resolution ; it is shaped mostly as

17974-444: The building on April 22, 1933, but its official opening was delayed due to controversy over Man at the Crossroads . The Rainbow Room and the observation deck opened in the mid-1930s, and retail space was added to the ground floor in the 1950s. The building remained almost fully occupied through the 20th century and was renamed for GE in 1988. Since the late 1990s, NBC has owned most of the lower floors, while Tishman Speyer has operated

18183-478: The building; Rockefeller Center purchased the Maxwell family's lease in 1970. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was designed by the Associated Architects of Rockefeller Center, composed of the firms of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray ; Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux ; and Reinhard & Hofmeister . Raymond Hood was the complex's lead architect. The Associated Architects designed all of Rockefeller Center's buildings in

18392-476: The buildings' exterior walls away from the streets. The base of the building could only rise to 120 feet (37 m) before it had to taper to a tower covering 25 percent of the site. The eastern tower appeared to violate this principle since it measured 103 by 327 feet (31 by 100 m), but the base measured only 200 by 535 feet (61 by 163 m). The base does not occupy its entire plot, which measures 200 by 670 feet (61 by 204 m). The tower section

18601-515: The buildings, which would create a " Babylonian garden " when viewed from above. At first, Alexander suggested " Homo faber , Man the Maker" as the complex's overarching theme, representing satisfaction with one's occupation rather than with the wage. However, that theme was not particularly well received by the architects, so Alexander proposed another theme, the "New Frontiers"; this theme dealt with social and scientific innovations and represented

18810-422: The buildings. They worked under the umbrella of "Associated Architects" so that none of the buildings could be attributed to any specific firm. The lead architect and foremost member of the Associated Architects was Raymond Hood , who would become memorable for his creative designs. Hood and Harvey Wiley Corbett were retained as consultants. The team also included Wallace Harrison , who would later become

19019-435: The ceiling immediately above. The lobby continues north and south from the information desk. Stairways at either end lead up to the mezzanine, while stairs and escalators lead downstairs to the basement. Extending west from either end are two corridors, which flank five north–south elevator banks. The elevator doors are made of bronze, and there are bronze and glass storefronts on the outer walls of these corridors. The floor

19228-409: The center needed visual enhancement besides the rooftop gardens. Initially, Todd had only planned to allocate about $ 150,000 toward the building's art program, but Rockefeller wanted artworks that had meaningful purposes rather than purely aesthetic ones. In November 1931, Todd suggested the creation of a program for placing distinctive artworks within each of the buildings. Hartley Burr Alexander ,

19437-405: The challenges that humanity faced "after the conquest of the physical world". In theory, this was considered a fitting theme, but Alexander had been so specific about the details of the necessary artworks that it limited the creative license for any artists who would execute such works. Alexander had created a 32-page paper that explained exactly what needed to be done for each artwork, with some of

19646-425: The city, state, and national levels. Visitors to Room 5600 have included Frank Sinatra , Shirley MacLaine , Nelson Mandela , Richard Gere , and Bono . Even in the late 1980s, when Room 5600 had downsized to 175 people, it still managed $ 900 million of Rockefeller family wealth. The family moved out during 2014. The 65th floor of the building is an event room and restaurant named the Rainbow Room . The space

19855-414: The college move its entire campus to the Upper Estate by 1827. Although the relocation requirement was repealed in 1819, Columbia's trustees did not see the land as "an attractive or helpful gift", so the college let the gardens deteriorate. The area would not become developed until the 1830s, and the land's value did not increase to any meaningful amount until the late 1850s, when St. Patrick's Cathedral

20064-539: The colors of the works inside the buildings, and Léon-Victor Solon did the same job for the exterior pieces. Gaston Lachaise , a renowned painter of female nudes, executed the commission for six uncontroversial bas-reliefs for Rockefeller Center, four at the front of 1230 Avenue of the Americas (RCA Building West) and two at the back of the International Building . The Prometheus , Youth , and Maiden sculptures that Paul Manship had created for

20273-413: The commission for bas-reliefs on the Sixth Avenue entrance in September 1932. The same month, Hood and the complex's manager John Todd traveled to Europe to interview five artists for the lobby. Frank Brangwyn, Josep Maria Sert, and Diego Rivera were hired the following month, despite John Rockefeller Jr.'s hesitance to hire Rivera, a prominent communist. Henri Matisse had been reluctant to commission

20482-681: The complex as "Rockefeller Centre", which was the British way of spelling "Center" . After consultation with the famed lexicographer Frank H. Vizetelly , "Centre" was changed to "Center". Over time, the appellation of "Radio City" devolved from describing the entire complex to just the complex's western section; and by 1937, only the Radio City Music Hall contained the "Radio City" name. According to Daniel Okrent, most sources estimated that between 40,000 and 60,000 people were hired during construction. One estimate by Raymond Fosdick,

20691-417: The complex diagonally was briefly considered, but it was dropped because it involved decommissioning city streets, which could only be done after lengthy discussions with city officials. Plan G-3 was presented to the Metropolitan Square Corporation's managers in February. At the time, Todd thought that G-3 was the most viable proposal for the complex. Another plan called H-1 was revealed in March 1930, after

20900-428: The complex was built. The northwest and southwest corners of 30 Rockefeller Plaza were built around two holdout structures on Sixth Avenue. The owners of the parcel on Sixth Avenue and 49th Street, at the southwest corner of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, had demanded an exorbitant price for their property upon learning of the planned skyscraper. The holdout building had contained Hurley's restaurant, which had opened around

21109-480: The complex were prominently situated in the complex's lower plaza. Barry Faulkner had only one commission for the entirety of Rockefeller Center: a mosaic mural above the entrance of 1230 Avenue of the Americas. Alfred Janniot also created a single work for Rockefeller Center, the bronze panel outside La Maison Francaise 's entrance. Lee Lawrie was by far the complex's most prolific artist, with 12 works. Most of Lawrie's commissions were limestone screens above

21318-440: The complex's setbacks below the 16th floor be covered with gardens. Hood thought this was the cheapest way to make the buildings look attractive, with a cost estimate of $ 250,000 to $ 500,000 (about $ 3.6 to $ 7.3 million in 2023 ) that could pay for itself if the gardens were made into botanical gardens. Hood proposed a three-tiered arrangement, inspired by a similar plan of Le Corbusier . The lowest tier would be at ground level;

21527-485: The construction of the 69th floor; it was part of a publicity stunt promoting the RCA Building. The building was topped out on September 26, 1932, when an American flag was hoisted to the top of the primary 66-story tower on Rockefeller Plaza. The Indiana limestone cladding had been erected to the 15th floor on the Rockefeller Plaza wing, and the facade of the Sixth Avenue wing had been completed. The stone

21736-457: The deal. In January, Todd released a new plan called G-3. Like the previous Metropolitan Opera proposal, this plan subdivided the complex into eight blocks with a plaza in the middle of the center block. It was similar to his October 1929 plan for the Met, with one major change: the opera house was replaced with a 50-story building. The 50-story tower was included because its larger floor area would provide large profits, and its central location

21945-458: The development corporation defaulted . Rockefeller covered ongoing expenses through the sale of oil company stock. Other estimates placed Radio City's cost at $ 120 million (equivalent to $ 1.74 billion in 2023 ) based on plan H-16, released in August 1930, or $ 116.3 million (equivalent to $ 1.68 billion in 2023 ) based on plan F-18, released in November 1930. The design of the complex

22154-534: The early 1900s. By the 1920s, Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan was a prime site for development. Around that time, the Metropolitan Opera (Met) was looking for a new site for their opera house, and architect Benjamin Wistar Morris decided on the former Columbia site. Rockefeller eventually became involved in the project and leased the Columbia site in 1928 for 87 years. The lease excluded land along

22363-495: The east side of Sixth Avenue to the west of the Rockefeller property, as well as at the site's southeast corner. He hired Todd, Robertson, and Todd as design consultants and selected the architectural firms of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray , Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux, and Reinhard & Hofmeister for the opera complex. However, the Met was unsure about moving there, and the Wall Street Crash of 1929 put an end to

22572-409: The east, to the plaza and to the RCA Building to the west, with steps leading down to the plaza. The western side of the plaza would lead directly to the underground pedestrian mall. A replica of Niagara Falls ' Horseshoe Falls would also be built above a 100-by-20-foot (30 by 6 m) reflecting pool , while ivy would be planted on the outside of some of the buildings. In a June 1932 revision to

22781-522: The east. Columbia built a new campus near its Upper Estate in 1856, selling a plot at Fifth Avenue and 48th Street to the St. Nicholas Church to pay for construction. Shortly afterward, Columbia implemented height restrictions that prevented any taller buildings, such as apartment blocks or commercial and industrial buildings, from being built on its property. Narrow brownstone houses and expensive "Vanderbilt Colony" mansions were built on nearby streets, and

22990-399: The elevator-bank walls contain murals. The ceilings of the corridors are carried by rows of piers. West of the elevator banks, two north–south corridors extend to side entrances on 49th and 50th Streets, which each contain two bronze sets of revolving doors. The corridors continue west to the Sixth Avenue entrance. Just west of the elevators, a staircase leads down to the basement and up to

23199-464: The elevators only ran to the 55th floor. It had taken only 102 workdays to install the 212,000 cubic feet (6,000 m ) of stonework. Rockefeller Plaza was added to the city's official street map in January 1933, and the RCA Building gained the address 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The next month, John D. Rockefeller III honored 27 mechanics for their work on the RCA Building. At the time, The New York Times reported that 1,600 workers were busy completing

23408-468: The end of the year, Rockefeller hosted a "symposium" of architectural firms so he could solicit plans for the new complex. He invited seven firms, six of which specialized in Beaux-Arts architecture , and asked the noted Beaux-Arts architects John Russell Pope , Cass Gilbert , and Milton B. Medary to judge the proposals. Rockefeller requested that all the plans be submitted by February 1929, and

23617-524: The entrance are entitled The Conquest of Space and Gifts of Earth to Mankind ; these respectively depict aspiration and life, two qualities that Lachaise believed were most important to humanity. The two panels in the center are known as Genius Seizing the Light of the Sun (also known as Invention Seizing the Light of the Sun ) and The Spirit of Progress . The panels are placed at the third story because, at

23826-506: The facade. 30 Rockefeller Plaza also had 6,045 windows upon its completion, with 19,700 panes between them, covering 168,340 square feet (15,639 m ) in total. Thirty-six of the windows measured 9 by 16 feet (2.7 by 4.9 m) and were storefront windows. Those on the mezzanine level were composed of 9-by-12-foot (2.7 by 3.7 m) panels flanked by smaller sidelights. Another 165 were casement windows , which had panes measuring 6 by 18 inches (150 by 460 mm); most of these were above

24035-576: The fact that the themes were stenciled onto the murals. By contrast, Stern said: "Sert at least allowed the meaning of his paintings to fall into happy obscurity." After the building had opened, Sert was commissioned to paint the mural American Progress at the center of the lobby, measuring 50 by 17 feet (15.2 by 5.2 m). The mural was installed in 1937. It depicts a vast allegorical scene of men constructing modern America and contains figures of Abraham Lincoln , Mahatma Gandhi , and Ralph Waldo Emerson . The space occupied by American Progress

24244-419: The family name rather than for the Met proposal itself, as Rockefeller never mentioned the details of the proposal in his daily communications with his father, John D. Rockefeller Sr. In mid-1928, the Met and Rockefeller were named as prospective buyers for the Columbia site. A lease was agreed to in late 1928 and signed on December 31 of that year. Columbia leased the parcel to Rockefeller for 87 years at

24453-405: The family's principal architect and adviser to John Rockefeller Jr.'s son Nelson . Hood, Morris, and Corbett were the consultants on "architectural style and grouping", although Morris was in the process of being fired. Todd also hired L. Andrew Reinhard and Henry Hofmeister as rental or tenant architects, to design the floor plans for the complex, and who were known as the most pragmatic of

24662-454: The fledgling television and radio industries. By May, RCA and its affiliates had made an agreement with Rockefeller Center managers. RCA would lease 1 million square feet (93,000 m ) of studio space; get naming rights to the development's largest tower; and develop four theaters, at a cost of $ 4.25 million per year (equivalent to $ 61.7 million in 2023 ). NBC was assured exclusive broadcasting rights at Rockefeller Center as part of

24871-435: The floors below the observation deck were planned as a restaurant, solarium, game room, and ballroom, which would later become the Rainbow Room . The Rainbow Room opened on October 3, 1934. A revolving beacon was installed atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 1935, the first such beacon to be installed in Manhattan. That September, the ground-floor retail space was fully leased. The New York Museum of Science and Industry leased

25080-442: The formation of the Underel Corporation. The negotiations for the Sixth Avenue properties were conducted by different brokers and law firms so as to conceal the Rockefeller family's involvement in the Underel Corporation's acquisitions. Even so, there were several tenants along Sixth Avenue who initially refused to give up their buildings. In total, Charles Heydt spent $ 10 million (equivalent to $ 150 million in 2023 ) on acquiring

25289-415: The four theaters included in plan H-1 , of March 1930, the city only approved the construction of two; and thus, only these two theaters were constructed. Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel , a successful theater operator who was renowned for his dominance of the city's theater industry, joined the center's advisory board in 1930. He offered to build two theaters: a large, vaudeville "International Music Hall", on

25498-425: The garden included thirteen nation-specific gardens, whose layouts were inspired by gardens in the respective countries they represented. Each of the different gardens were separated by barriers. The "International Garden", a rock garden in the center of the themed gardens, featured a meandering stream and 2,000 plant varieties. The Garden of the Nations also contained a children's garden, a modern-style garden, and

25707-412: The interior work. According to the main contractors, the laborers, plasterers, and metal lathers involved in the project would need to be compensated the equivalent of 25,000 eight-hour workdays. The building would require 26,900 short tons (24,000 long tons; 24,400 t) of plasterwork, covering about 650,000 square yards (540,000 m ). By April 6, 1933, there were 1,400 mechanics working to complete

25916-452: The key themes underlined in all caps, giving the paper "a tone more Martian than human", according to Okrent. In March 1932, Alexander was fired and replaced with a panel of five artists. The panel agreed on the current theme, "The March of Civilization", but by that point some of the art of previous themes had already been commissioned, including the works that Alexander had proposed. The process of commissioning art for Rockefeller Center

26125-466: The land for $ 75,000 (equivalent to $ 1,373,000 in 2023 ). In 1814, the trustees of Columbia University (then Columbia College) were looking to the state legislature for funds when the legislature unexpectedly gave Hosack's former land to the college instead. The gardens became part of Columbia's "Upper Estate" (as opposed to the "Lower Estate" in Lower Manhattan ), on the condition that

26334-564: The land in question was under the Sixth Avenue Elevated. By October 1929, Todd announced a new proposal that differed greatly from Morris's original plan. Todd suggested that the site's three blocks be further subdivided into eight lots, with an "Opera Plaza" in the middle of the center block. The complex would contain the Metropolitan Opera facility; a retail area with two 25-story buildings; department stores; two apartment buildings; and two hotels, with one rising 37 stories and

26543-403: The large number of tenants, Rockefeller Center was only 59 percent rented by the end of 1933. Shortly after the RCA Building's opening, there were plans to use the building above the 64th floor as a public "amusement center". That section of the building had several terraces, which could be used as a dance floor, observation deck and landscaped terrace gardens. On the 65th floor, there was also

26752-496: The lobby is the complex's shopping concourse, connected to the lobby via escalators. The building has a direct entrance to the New York City Subway 's 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center station via the concourse. Until 1950, the building's concourse had also contained Rockefeller Center's post office. The mezzanine contains balconies overlooking the lobby. The floors of the mezzanine are black terrazzo, while

26961-508: The lots at 1242–1248 Sixth Avenue and 73 West 49th Street, part of RCA Building West; these lots had previously been held under a long-term lease. By the next year, the RCA Building was almost fully rented. Construction of Rockefeller Center The construction of the Rockefeller Center complex in Midtown Manhattan , New York City, was conceived in the late 1920s and led by John D. Rockefeller Jr. . Rockefeller Center

27170-689: The main entrances of buildings, but he had also created two of Rockefeller Center's best-known artworks: the Atlas statue in the International Building's courtyard, and the 37-foot-tall (11 m) Wisdom screen above the RCA Building's main entrance. Ezra Winter , who created the "Quest for the Fountains of Eternal Youth" mural in Radio City Music Hall 's lobby, largely adhered to Alexander's original specifications for

27379-606: The majority of the Tri-State area , transmitted from atop the building and remained there until 2014. Due to interference with a U.S. Coast Guard radio channel, the transmitter was eventually relocated atop the MetLife Building . The weather radar station was used as Doppler 4000 during WNBC-TV 's local newscasts. It was operational until February 1, 2017, when StormTracker 4, an S-band weather radar at Rutgers University's Cook Campus , started operating. Top of

27588-404: The mall via a wide concourse under the RCA Building. The complex-wide vehicular tunnels were not built; instead, a truck ramp from ground level to the underground delivery rooms was built at 50th Street. An unfulfilled revision to the plan was submitted in May 1931, when Benjamin Wistar Morris, the architect of the original Opera proposal, proposed enhancing the complex's private passageway into

27797-486: The middle tier would be atop the retail buildings' low-lying roofs and the skyscrapers' setbacks; and the highest tier would be at the tops of the skyscrapers. A March 1932 update to the rooftop garden proposal also included two ornately decorated bridges that would connect the complex's three blocks, though the bridge plan was later dismissed due to its high cost. Ultimately, only seven disconnected gardens would be built. Since American tenants were reluctant to rent in

28006-420: The mural Man at the Crossroads by Diego Rivera . The entire Rockefeller Center complex is a New York City designated landmark and a National Historic Landmark , and parts of 30 Rockefeller Plaza's interior are also New York City landmarks. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was developed as part of the construction of Rockefeller Center , and work on its superstructure started in March 1932. The first tenant moved into

28215-471: The mural, which was covered in stretched canvas and left incomplete. Brangwyn's murals were also incomplete at the time of the building's opening. Rivera's mural remained covered until February 1934, when workmen peeled the mural off the wall. Columbia University originally owned most of Rockefeller Center's land as well as the complex's buildings, including the RCA Building. However, Columbia received no rental income; Rockefeller Center's managers collected

28424-447: The mural. One of the center's more controversial works was created by Diego Rivera , whom Nelson Rockefeller had hired to create a color fresco for the 1,071-square-foot (99 m ) wall in the RCA Building's lobby. His painting, Man at the Crossroads , became controversial, as it contained Moscow May Day scenes and a clear portrait of Lenin , which had not been apparent in initial sketches (see Rockefeller Center § Man at

28633-519: The new opera house could not be mortgaged, and Columbia would regain possession of the land, which would be a disadvantage for both the Met and Rockefeller. In August 1929, Rockefeller created a holding company to purchase the strip of land on Sixth Avenue that he did not already lease, so he could construct a larger building on the site and maximize his profits. The company was called the Underel Holding Corporation because

28842-405: The new opera house. By early 1928, Morris had created blueprints for an opera house and a surrounding retail complex at the Upper Estate. However, the new building was too expensive for the Met to fund by itself, and it needed an endowment . On May 21, 1928, Morris presented the project during a dinner for potential investors, at which the Rockefeller family 's public relations adviser Ivy Lee

29051-449: The north, south, and east elevations. Hood also created a guideline that all of the office space in the complex would be no more than 27 ft (8.2 m) from a window, which was the maximum distance that sunlight could permeate the windows of a building at New York City's latitude. The setbacks on the northern and southern sides of 30 Rockefeller Plaza allow the building to comply with Hood's guideline. The setbacks correspond to

29260-478: The north. Across Rockefeller Plaza are the International Building to the northeast, La Maison Francaise and the British Empire Building to the east, and 1 Rockefeller Plaza and 608 Fifth Avenue to the southeast. In addition, 10 Rockefeller Plaza is to the south. The site was previously part of the campus of Columbia University , which retained ownership of most of the land well after

29469-441: The northernmost block, with more than 6,200 seats; and the smaller, 3,500-seat "RKO Roxy" movie theater on the southernmost block. The idea for these theaters was inspired by Roxy's failed expansion of the 5,920-seat Roxy Theatre on 50th Street, one-and-a-half blocks away. Roxy also envisioned an elevated promenade between the two theaters, but this was never published in any of the official blueprints. Meanwhile, proposals for

29678-546: The number of elevators in the complex's buildings, especially the RCA Building. Originally, the elevators were supposed to be installed by the Otis Elevator Company , but Westinghouse Electric Corporation got the contract after agreeing to move into the RCA Building. This turned out to be a financially sound decision for Rockefeller Center, since Westinghouse's elevators functioned better than Otis's. Hood and Corbett suggested some plans that were eccentric by

29887-491: The opera house. They created three designs, all of which the Met rejected. Kahn wanted the opera house to be on a relatively cheap piece of land near a busy theater and retail area, with access to transportation. In January 1928, Tonnele approached Cutting to propose the Upper Estate as a possible location for the Met. Cutting told of Tonnele's idea to Morris, who thought that the Columbia grounds in Midtown were ideal for

30096-487: The other being 35 stories. The Met's opera house would have been on the center block between 49th and 50th Streets east of Sixth Avenue. The retail center would be built around or to the west of the opera building. According to one New York Times account, the shops in the Metropolitan Opera development would be laid out in a way similar to that of the retail center in the English city of Chester . The main hurdle to

30305-425: The oval building, and proposed a new 40-story tower for a nearby site. These buildings not only would provide retail space but also would fit in with Fifth Avenue's architecture. In the new plan, an oval-shaped central plaza would be recessed below ground level, with plantings surrounding a large central fountain. A wide, planted esplanade , between 50th and 51st streets, would lead pedestrians from Fifth Avenue, on

30514-410: The perimeter of the deck; it dates to the 2005 renovation. The deck originally had dimensions of 190 by 21 feet (57.9 by 6.4 m) and was decorated in the style of an ocean liner, with furnishings such as slatted chairs. The observation deck was closed in 1986 because a renovation of the Rainbow Room had cut off the deck's only access point. The observation deck has been known since 2005 as Top of

30723-458: The physician David Hosack , a member of the New York elite, purchased a parcel of land in what is now Midtown for $ 5,000, equivalent to $ 92,000 in 2023 dollars. In terms of the present-day street grid, Hosack's land was bounded by 47th Street on the south, 51st Street on the north, and Fifth Avenue on the east, while the western boundary was slightly east of Sixth Avenue (also known as Avenue of

30932-580: The plan was submitted to the New York City Board of Estimate in October 1933. The plan included two vehicular tunnels to carry 49th and 50th streets underneath the entire complex, as well as a subterranean pedestrian mall connecting the buildings in the complex. Additionally, a 0.75-mile (1.21 km) system of pedestrian passages would be 34 feet (10 m) underground, and a 125-by-96-foot (38 by 29 m) sunken lower plaza would connect to

31141-414: The plan was the Met's reluctance to commit to the development by buying leases from existing tenants and handing the leases over to Columbia. Rockefeller stood to lose $ 100,000 per year (equivalent to $ 1.4 million in 2023) if he leased the new opera house. Todd had objected that the opera house would be a blight rather than a benefit for the neighborhood, as it would be closed most of the time. After

31350-408: The plan, the proposed plaza's shape was changed to a rectangle, and the fountain was moved to the western side of the plaza. The sculptor Paul Manship was then hired to create a sculpture to place on top of the fountain; his bronze Prometheus statue was installed on the site in 1934. As a concession for the loss of the rooftop gardens planned for the oval building, Hood suggested that all of

31559-415: The plans. Rockefeller instead entered into negotiations with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) to create a mass-media complex on the site. A new plan was released in January 1930, and an update to the plan was presented after Rockefeller obtained a lease for the land along Sixth Avenue. Revisions continued until March 1931, when the current site design was unveiled. A late change to the proposal included

31768-577: The platform, as well as several banquet rooms on the 64th floor. Above the dance floor hang several concentric "rings" that recess into the ceiling. The roof of the building's central section contained a 0.75-acre (0.30 ha) "Garden of the Nations" (alternatively "Gardens of the Nations" ), which opened in April 1935 on the 11th floor. The garden used 3,000 short tons (2,700 long tons) of soil; 100 short tons (89 long tons) of rock from as far as England; 100,000 bricks; 2,000 trees and shrubs; 4,000 small plants; and 20,000 bulbs for flowers. Originally,

31977-471: The production company's founders rebranded themselves as "LXTV" Before rebranding, Code.TV launched a one-time Web video following around a 23-year-old analyst named A.J. who worked at an investment bank as he went out on an extravagant night on the town, in which he described as "models and bottles." A.J.'s lavish lifestyle, colorful personality and catchphrase went viral and became instant Web fodder, getting picked up by sites like "Gawker," "New York Times" and

32186-450: The project's viability, with one of the firm's partners, John R. Todd , to serve as the principal builder and managing agent for the project. Todd submitted a plan for the opera house site in September 1928, in which he proposed constructing office buildings, department stores, apartment buildings, and hotels around the new opera house. In June 1928, Charles O. Heydt , one of Rockefeller's business associates, met with Kahn to discuss

32395-415: The project, and many of his ideas were included in the final design. Rockefeller retained Todd, Robertson and Todd as the developers of the proposed opera house site; and, as a result, Todd stepped down from the Metropolitan Square Corporation's board of directors. In October 1929, Todd appointed Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray ; Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux ; and Reinhard & Hofmeister to design

32604-449: The property exceeding $ 7 billion (equivalent to $ 102 billion in 2023 ). Rockefeller achieved this by buying existing leases from the tenants. In January 1929, William A. White & Sons was hired to conduct the eviction proceedings. They worked with the law firm of Murray, Aldrich & Webb to give checks to tenants in exchange for property, sometimes for over $ 1 million. The area was mostly occupied by illegal speakeasy bars, as

32813-405: The proposed building as an "oilcan". The original plan had been for two retail buildings, but was changed to one in response to Chase National Bank's request for a single building. However, the oval building was scrapped in early 1931, after Chase could not win exclusive banking rights at the building's location. An updated plan, F-19, restored two smaller 6-story retail buildings to the site of

33022-415: The proposed opera house. After the meeting, Heydt purchased land just north of the proposed opera house site as per Rockefeller's request, but for a different reason: Rockefeller was afraid that many of the landmarks of his childhood, in the area, were going to be demolished by the 1920s wave of development. The writer Daniel Okrent states that Rockefeller's acquisition of the land might have been more for

33231-647: The rent and owned the land under the western part of the complex, including a section of the RCA Building West. The RCA offices moved to the RCA Building's 52nd and 53rd floors in June 1933. The Rockefeller family took up space throughout the building to give potential tenants the impression of occupancy. Their Rockefeller Foundation , as well as the General Education Board and the Spelman Fund of New York, had leased space, and

33440-486: The rest of the building. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was extensively renovated in 2014 and was renamed for Comcast in 2015. 30 Rockefeller Plaza is part of the Rockefeller Center complex in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . It was intended as the central structure of Rockefeller Center, both physically and symbolically. The land lot is nearly rectangular and covers 107,766 sq ft (10,011.8 m ), bounded by Sixth Avenue (officially Avenue of

33649-457: The retail buildings, Rockefeller Center's manager Hugh Robertson, formerly of Todd, Robertson and Todd, suggested foreign tenants for the buildings. They held talks with prospective Czech, German, Italian, and Swedish lessees who could potentially occupy the six-story internationally themed buildings on Fifth Avenue, although it was reported that Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian tenancies were also considered. The first themed building that

33858-431: The roof of the eastern tower contained neon letters spelling "RCA". The letters each measured 22 feet (6.7 m) wide by 24 feet (7.3 m) tall; at the time of the building's completion, the letters were the world's highest neon signs. These were replaced by "GE" letters in 1988. The letters were replaced again with the new united Comcast/NBC logo, rendered in longer-lasting LED lighting . The new signs consist of

34067-490: The sides, measuring 27 feet (8.2 m) high by 13 feet (4.0 m) wide. Lee Lawrie designed the sculptural group Wisdom, A Voice from the Clouds , for the lintels of the three arches. Lawrie's carved rendering of Wisdom is above the center arch, flanked by Sound on the left and Light on the right. The Wisdom frieze above the entrance is accompanied by an inscription reading "Wisdom and Knowledge shall be

34276-417: The stability of thy times", from Isaiah 33:6 (KJV). The sculptural groups are accompanied by polychrome decorations created by Léon-Victor Solon . Lawrie's three renderings are complemented by two limestone bas-reliefs by Leo Friedlander : one of Production on the north elevation and one of Radio on the south elevation. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, the annex building to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, contains

34485-438: The standards of the time. One plan entailed the construction of a massive pyramid spanning all three blocks; this was later downsized to a small retail pyramid, which evolved into the oval retail building. Another plan included a system of vehicular ramps and bridges across the complex. In July 1930, Hood and Corbett briefly discussed the possibility of constructing the entire complex as a superblock with promenades leading from

34694-443: The steel structure of the RCA Building started in March 1932. Several artists were hired to design artwork for the RCA Building. Lee Lawrie was hired to design the RCA Building's eastern entrance in June 1932, at which point the sunken plaza in front of the building was also announced. The next month, Barry Faulkner was commissioned to create a large glass mosaic on the western entrance facing Sixth Avenue. Gaston Lachaise received

34903-449: The stock market crash of 1929 , these concerns were mooted: the opera could no longer afford to move. The Met instead suggested that Rockefeller finance their relocation by purchasing a half-interest in the old opera house and the land under it, an offer that he refused. On December 6, 1929, the plans for the new opera house were abandoned completely. With the lease still in effect, Rockefeller had to quickly devise new plans so that

35112-572: The studios were suspended from the superstructure, insulating the studios. In addition, there were double- and triple-height spaces for exhibitions, plays, and other events. NBC, ABC , and CBS (collectively the Big Three TV Networks ) had offices on Sixth Avenue and studios in Midtown during the mid-20th century. The first television shows at the NBC Studios were broadcast from studio 3H in 1935, and more TV studios were added after World War II as television gained popularity. During

35321-399: The themes that were represented. Rockefeller Center's managers had asked Brangwyn to omit a depiction of Jesus Christ from one of the panels; the artist ultimately depicted Jesus with his back turned. Brangwyn's and Sert's corridor murals measure 17 by 25 feet (5.2 by 7.6 m) each. Architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern described Brangwyn's murals as "insipid", a quality worsened by

35530-449: The three-block Columbia site could become profitable. Hood came up with the idea to negotiate with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and its subsidiaries, National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) , to build a mass media entertainment complex on the site. This was achievable because Wallace Harrison was good friends with Julian Street , a Chicago Tribune reporter whose wife's great-uncle Edward Harden

35739-408: The time of the building's construction, they could be seen from the elevated rail line above Sixth Avenue. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was designed with about 2,100,000 square feet (200,000 m ) of rentable space in total. The eastern tower contains the Rainbow Room restaurant on the 65th floor, while the Rockefeller family office occupied the tower's 54th through 56th floors until 2014. The tower

35948-426: The top floors, Westinghouse installed eight express elevators in the RCA Building. They moved at an average speed of 1,200 ft/min (370 m/min) and were so expensive that they constituted 13 percent of the building's entire construction cost. One elevator reached a top speed of 1,400 ft/min (430 m/min) and was dubbed "the fastest passenger elevator ride on record". These elevators cost about $ 17,000

36157-482: The tops of the elevator banks inside; this arrangement is repeated on the facade of the International Building. Similarly, 30 Rockefeller Plaza also contains notches at its corners. The eastern elevation's setbacks were included exclusively for aesthetic purposes. By contrast, the layout and massing of Rockefeller Center's other buildings were intended to maximize rental profit. 30 Rockefeller Plaza's limestone facade includes spandrels with quadruple-leaf motifs in

36366-491: The trains on the structure caused noise pollution. Columbia sold the southernmost block of its Midtown property in 1904, using the $ 3 million from the sale (equivalent to $ 79.6 million in 2023 ) to pay for newly acquired land in Morningside Heights even further uptown, to replace its Lower Estate. Simultaneously, the low-lying houses along Fifth Avenue were being replaced with taller commercial developments, and

36575-505: The twin buildings, between 50th and 51st streets, with the department store portion facing Fifth Avenue. A "final" layout change to that block occurred in June, when the department store was replaced by the tower's two retail wings, which would be nearly identical to the twin retail buildings to their south. The two new retail buildings, connected to each other, and to the main tower, with a galleria , were proposed to serve Italian, and possibly also German, interests upon completion. Out of

36784-577: The two Rockefeller Center parcels. The company allowed Robert Walton Goelet to keep the neighboring lot at 2–6 West 49th Street because the company considered his "interest and concern" to be a "large concern". However, he could not develop the land because Cromwell controlled an easement over part of Goelet's land, and the lots at 2–6 West 49th Street would be developed in 1932 as a commercial building called 608 Fifth Avenue . The St. Nicholas Church, on 48th Street behind Goelet's lot, also refused to sell its property despite an offer of up to $ 7 million for

36993-422: The underground bus terminal, was also added in this plan. The complex would include 28,000 windows and more than 125,000 short tons (112,000 long tons) of structural steel, according to the builders. It would cost $ 250 million. For the first time, a scale rendering of the proposed complex was presented to the public. The rendering was much criticized, with some taking issue with details or general dimensions of

37202-403: The university's real estate adviser John Tonnele was tasked with finding suitable tenants, who could net the university more profit than what the row houses' occupants were currently paying. In 1926, the Metropolitan Opera (Met) started looking for locations to build a new opera house to replace its existing building at 39th Street and Broadway. This was not a new effort, as Otto Kahn ,

37411-399: The walls are made of marble and plaster separated by a bronze molding. Offices from the outer walls open onto the mezzanine balconies. There are staircases from the lobby to both the concourse and mezzanine, west of the lobby's elevator banks. When the building opened, it contained a rotunda at the mezzanine level, measuring 67 feet (20 m) across with a photomural surrounding it. The mural

37620-399: The west along Sixth Avenue, and the auditoriums would be to the east, since the city's building code prohibited the erection of structures over the auditoriums of theaters. The delivery lane was eliminated in this plan, as it was perceived as unnecessary: the theaters would only see occasional deliveries. The complex would also contain three tall buildings in the center of each block, including

37829-492: The west side of the parcel, as well as St. Nicholas Church's property on Fifth Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets, and so these were excluded from the plans. Simultaneous with the signing of the lease, the Metropolitan Square Corporation was created to oversee construction. In October 1928, before the lease had been finalized, Rockefeller started asking for recommendations for architects. By

38038-412: The widening of the avenue between 1909 and 1914 contributed to this transition. Columbia also stopped enforcing its height restriction, which Okrent describes as a tactical mistake for the college because the wave of development along Fifth Avenue caused the Upper Estate to become available for such redevelopment. Since the leases on the Upper Estate row houses were being allowed to expire without renewal,

38247-563: The windowless center section of the building, which would have otherwise been used as an unprofitable office space. The central part of the building could also use fewer columns, which was suitable for large broadcast studios but not for the bases of skyscrapers. Over 1,500 mi (2,400 km) of utility wires stretched through this part of the building, which was powered by direct current . Two floors were reserved for future TV studios, and five more stories were reserved for audience members and guests. The floor, wall, and ceiling surfaces of

38456-511: Was a guest. Lee later informed his boss, John D. Rockefeller Jr. , about the proposal, in which the latter showed interest. Rockefeller wished to give the site serious consideration before he invested, and he did not want to fund the entire project on his own. As a result, in August 1928, Rockefeller contacted several firms for advice. Rockefeller ended up hiring the Todd, Robertson and Todd Engineering Corporation as design consultants to determine

38665-471: Was affected greatly by the 1916 Zoning Resolution , which restricted the height that street-side exterior walls of New York City buildings could rise before they needed to incorporate setbacks that recessed the buildings' exterior walls from the streets. Although the 66-story RCA Building was so far from the street that it could have simply risen as a slab without any setbacks, Hood decided to include setbacks anyway because they represented "a sense of future,

38874-543: Was agreed on was the British Empire Building, the more southerly of the two buildings, which would host governmental and commercial ventures of the United Kingdom. In February 1932, French tenants agreed to occupy the British Empire Building's twin to the north, La Maison Française . A department store and 30-story building (later changed to 45 stories) were planned for the block to the north of

39083-518: Was already in the process of developing a new building on Lexington Avenue . Rockefeller later 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." In January 1930, Rockefeller tasked Raymond Fosdick , the Rockefeller Foundation 's future head, with scheduling

39292-426: Was also broadcast from 30 Rockefeller Plaza until 1994, when it moved to 10 Rockefeller Plaza. The Rockefeller family's office, Room 5600, occupied the entire 56th floor. The family's Rockefeller Foundation rented the entire floor below, and two other organizations supported by the Rockefellers also moved into the building. Daniel Okrent , author of the book Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center , said

39501-405: Was built nearby, spurring a wave of development in the area. Ironically, the cathedral was built in that location because it faced the Upper Estate gardens. By 1860, the Upper Estate contained four row houses below 49th Street as well as a wooden building across from the cathedral. The surrounding area was underdeveloped, with a potter's field and the railroad lines from Grand Central Depot to

39710-412: Was chosen because Todd believed that the center of the complex was too valuable to waste on low-rise buildings. Plans for a new Metropolitan Opera building on the site were still being devised, including one proposal to place an office building over the opera facility. However, this was seen as increasingly unlikely due to the Met's reluctance to move to the complex. A proposal to create roads that crossed

39919-407: Was commissioned to sculpt the models of the buildings, and he would later also create some of the art for the center. The Metropolitan Opera was reluctant to commit to the development, and they refused to take up the site's existing leases until they were certain that they had enough money to do so. In January 1929, Cutting unsuccessfully asked Rockefeller for assistance in buying the leases. Since

40128-429: Was complicated. Each building's architects would suggest some artwork. Todd would eliminate all of the unconventional proposals, and Rockefeller had the final say on many of the works. There were many locations that needed art commissioned, which prevented any specific artistic style from dominating the complex. Specialists from around the world were retained for the art program: for instance, Edward Trumbull coordinated

40337-427: Was constructed in 1952. Four towers were built along the west side of Sixth Avenue in the 1960s and 1970s, which was the most recent expansion of Rockefeller Center. The Center Theatre from the original complex was demolished in 1954. In 1686, much of Manhattan, including the future Rockefeller Center site, was established as a "common land" of the city of New York. The land remained in city ownership until 1801, when

40546-408: Was constructing Rockefeller Center, relocated to the RCA Building on April 22, 1933, becoming the first tenants. The RCA Building was slated to officially open on May 1, 1933. Its opening was delayed until mid-May because of a controversy over Rivera's Man at the Crossroads , which in large part stemmed from the communist motifs of the mural. On May 10, 1933, Rivera was ordered to stop all work on

40755-402: Was designed by Wallace K. Harrison of Associated Architects. Interior designer Elena Bachman Schmidt , a one-time apprentice of Elsie de Wolfe , contributed to the design of the interior decor, such as the furniture, curtains, and elevator doors. Vincente Minnelli was assigned to help Schmidt select the colors of the walls. The restaurant opened in 1934, and was the highest restaurant in

40964-418: Was fabricated at four factories in New York state and then shipped to New York City. Two traveling cranes lifted the stone from the ground to two hoists 70 feet (21 m) high, which then raised the stone to the upper floors. The stonework of the primary tower was completed on December 7, 1932, without fanfare. Officials said at the time that they did not host a ceremony for the stonework's completion because

41173-503: Was made official, with Metropolitan Life agreeing to lend $ 65 million (equivalent to $ 940 million in 2023) to the Rockefeller Center Development Corporation. Metropolitan Life's president Frederick H. Ecker granted the money on two conditions: that no other entity would grant a loan to the complex, and that Rockefeller co-sign the loan so that he would be responsible for paying it off if

41382-415: Was murdered two months before he was set to be forcefully evicted from his Upper Estate building in January 1929. Demolition of the structures started in early 1930, and all of the buildings' leases had been bought by August 1931. The center's managers then set to acquire the remaining lots along Sixth Avenue, and at the southeast corner of the site, so that they could create a larger complex, which led to

41591-424: Was officially completed by November 2, 1939. The construction project employed more than 40,000 people and was considered the largest private construction project at the time. It had cost the equivalent of $ 1.7 billion in 2023 dollars to construct. Since then, there have been several modifications to the complex. An additional building at 75 Rockefeller Plaza was constructed in 1947, while another at 600 Fifth Avenue

41800-513: Was originally hired to paint four murals in the northern lobby corridor: Time ; Spirit of Dance ; Man's Triumph in Communication ; Conquest of Disease ; Abolition of Bondage ; Fraternity of Men ; and Contest-1940 , depicting different aspects of the world and mankind. Frank Brangwyn painted four murals on the southern corridor, all of which symbolize humans' relationship with spirituality; he complemented these murals with stencils of

42009-410: Was originally taken up by Diego Rivera 's Man at the Crossroads mural, which was controversial because of its communist imagery and was destroyed in 1934. Rockefeller officials commissioned a sixth mural from Sert, representing the past, present, and future, which they installed in the lobby in 1941. The mural measures 100 by 50 feet (30 by 15 m) and is installed on the ceiling. Below

42218-407: Was part of the RCA board of directors. At Hood's request, Harrison made a lunch date to tell Street about the mass-media complex proposal. Harden, in turn, described the idea to RCA's founder Owen D. Young , who was amenable to the suggestion. It turned out that Young, a longtime friend of Rockefeller's, had been thinking of constructing a "Radio City" for RCA for several years, even as the company

42427-406: Was recessed so far into the block that it could have risen without any setbacks. Hood decided to include setbacks anyway, as they represented "a sense of future, a sense of energy, a sense of purpose", according to architecture expert Alan Balfour . Above the lowest stories, the north and south elevations rise straight up for 33 stories before setting back gradually. There are three setbacks each on

42636-424: Was taken apart in the 1950s and the rotunda itself was demolished in the 1970s. A new rotunda was constructed from 2014 to 2015, accessed from the ground floor by a 16-foot-wide (4.9 m) staircase; the rotunda contains two LED displays, each measuring 60 feet (18 m) wide and 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. From 1960 to October 1993, the building's mezzanine level housed the New York City weather forecast office of

42845-726: Was taken by the Greek consulate, the Chinese consulate, the National Health Council , and a branch of the Chase National Bank . A double-height space at the center of the ground story, which had been difficult to rent, opened as the Municipal Art Exhibition in February 1934. The space, referred to as the Forum, had contained a large stairway leading up to a second-story balcony with exhibition rooms. Despite

43054-474: Was the largest private building project ever undertaken. Carol Herselle Krinsky , in her 1978 book, describes the center as "the only large private permanent construction project planned and executed between the start of the Depression and the end of the Second World War". For the project, 228 buildings on the site were razed and some 4,000 tenants relocated, with the estimated aggregate worth of

43263-587: Was the only one of the Big Three that retained studios in Midtown by the mid-1980s. Studio 8H , which hosts Saturday Night Live , is the largest of the studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, with a capacity of 1,200 or 1,400 guests. Studio 8H was once the largest radio studio in the world and was originally home to the NBC Symphony Orchestra before being converted into a television studio in 1950. Another major studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza

43472-436: Was then renovated in 1941. As part of the project, an overpass at mezzanine level was removed, the lighting was brightened, and another mural by Jose Maria Sert was installed. An air-raid siren was installed atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 1942 during World War II. The Rainbow Room and Grill atop the RCA Building was closed at the end of that December because of staffing shortages. In 1943, Rockefeller Center's managers purchased

43681-783: Was ultimately built around both parcels. On the southeast corner of the site, several property owners also refused to sell. Columbia University was willing to give Rockefeller Center Inc. control of all leases in the former Upper Estate that were no longer held by a third party. However, William Nelson Cromwell , a prominent lawyer and Columbia alumnus, who owned three adjacent row houses at 10–14 West 49th Street, would not move out of his house when his lease expired in 1927. The disagreement continued until 1936, during which time Cromwell refused to pay rent on 14 West 49th Street, while Rockefeller Center Inc. withheld $ 400,000 of Cromwell's rent payments to Columbia. Rockefeller Center Inc. would later buy 8 West 49th, thus boxing Cromwell's land in between

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