Top of the Rock
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Rockefeller Center, GE Building and the
TOTR
Rockefeller Center or Rockefeller Plaza is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the centre of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. 65,000 people work in the Rockefeller Center. 175,000 people visit daily for business or pleasure.
History: Rockefeller Center was named after John
D. Rockefeller, Jr., who leased the space from Columbia
University in 1928 and developed it from 1930. Rockefeller initially planned a
syndicate to build an opera
house for the Metropolitan
Opera on the site, but changed his mind after the stock market
crash
of 1929 and the Metropolitan's continual delays to hold out for a more
favourable lease, causing Rockefeller to move forward without them. Rockefeller
stated "It was clear that there were only two courses open to me. One was to
abandon the entire development. The other to go forward with it in the definite
knowledge that I myself would have to build it and finance it alone." He took on
the enormous project as the sole financier, on a 27-year lease (with the option
for three 21-year renewals for a total of 87 years) for the site from Columbia;
negotiating a line of credit with the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Company and covering ongoing expenses through the sale of oil company
stock. It was the largest private building project ever undertaken in modern times. Construction of the 14 buildings in the Art Deco style (without the original opera house proposal) began on the 17th of May 1930 and was completed on the 1st of November 1933 when he drove in the final (silver) rivet into 10 Rockefeller Plaza. Principal builder, and "managing agent", for the massive project was John R. Todd and principal architect was Raymond Hood, working with and leading three architectural firms, on a team that included a young Wallace Harrison, later to become the family's principal architect and adviser to Nelson Rockefeller. It was the public relations pioneer Ivy Lee, the prominent adviser to the family, who first suggested the name "Rockefeller Centre" for the complex, in 1931. Junior initially did not want the Rockefeller family name associated with the commercial project, but was persuaded on the grounds that the name would attract far more tenants.
Buildings and tenants: The landmark buildings comprise over 8,000,000 square feet on
twenty two acres in Midtown, bounded by Fifth and Sixth Avenues, and running from 48th Street to 51st
Street. Rockefeller Center is also a private property, co-owned by
Tishman-Speyer, and open to the public.
 Avenue of the Americas: Construction of the Sixth
Avenue subway (the "F" line) began in 1934, and included demolition of the
elevated train tracks that had been in use since the late 1800's. As part of the
redesign, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia lined the avenue with arched street lamps,
each bearing a large circular medallion representing a different country in
North, South, or Central America. Thus, Sixth Avenue took on a new name; "Avenue
of the Americas."
 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree: Each Christmas
the tree has 30,000 energy-efficient LED lights, on five miles of wire. 25,000
Swarovski crystals are on the star at the top of the tree. 100 feet is the
record height of the tallest Christmas tree in 1999. It takes 20 people and an
80 ton crane to erect the tree. The tree comes down two weeks after Christmas,
and is then recycled. The mulch (all three tons of it) is donated to the Boy
Scouts to create forest paths and prevent soil erosion while the trunk either
goes to the US Equestrian Team to be used as a jump or is cut into lumber for
Habitat for Humanity. (borrowed photograph).
  The GE
Building: is the Art
Deco skyscraper
that forms the centrepiece of Rockefeller
Center in the midtown
Manhattan section of New
York City. Known as the RCA
Building until 1988, it is most famous for housing the headquarters of
the television
network NBC.
At 850 feet, the 70-story building’s address is 30 Rockefeller
Plaza, which has led to its nickname "30 Rock". The building was completed in 1933 as part of the Rockefeller Center. The noted Art Deco architect Raymond Hood led a team of Rockefeller architects. It was named the RCA Building for its main tenant, the Radio Corporation of America, formed in 1919 by General Electric. It was the first building constructed with the elevators grouped in the central core. During construction, photographer Charles Clyde Ebbets took the famous photograph Lunchtime atop a Skyscraper on the 69th floor, the 840 foot drop below, he also took the less famous picture of some of the workers having a rest.
The GE Building
The office of the Rockefeller family occupied Room 5600 on the 56th floor. This space is now occupied by Rockefeller Family & Associates, spanning between the 54th floor and the 56th floor of the building. In 1985, the building acquired official landmark status. The RCA Building was renamed as the GE Building in 1988, two years after General Electric re-acquired the RCA Corporation. The GE Building is one of the most famous and recognised skyscrapers in New York.
The frieze located above the main entrance was executed by Lee Lawrie and depicts "Wisdom", along with a slogan that reads "Wisdom and Knowledge shall be the stability of thy times", from Isaiah 33:6 (KJV). The vertical detailing of the building's austere Art Deco facade is integrated with a slim, functionally expressive form. The present exterior is recognised for the large GE letters at the building's top. The famous marquee above the building's entrance is seen on numerous television shows, such as 30 Rock and Seinfeld. Unlike most other tall Art Deco buildings constructed in the 1930’s, the GE Building has no spire on its roof.
The observation deck atop the skyscraper, dubbed "Top of the Rock" or TOTR; reopened to the public on the 1st of November 2005, after undergoing a $75 million renovation. It had been closed since 1986 to accommodate the renovation of the Rainbow Room. The deck, which is built to resemble the deck of an ocean liner, offers sightseers a bird's eye view of the city, competing with the 86th floor observatory of the Empire State Building. It is often considered the best panoramic city view, some people prefer the views from the TOTR and like the fact the entry is in time slots, meaning much less queuing than at the Empire State Building. It is true you get a better view of Central Park - well you are a bit closer to it. We always had always planned to visit both buildings (both in the 1000 Places....... Book) and of course we did go up to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building. From here though, you get to photograph of the Empire State Building and we did have someone offer to take a picture of the two of us with the ESB behind us. Very special view of it as darkness fell.
ALL IN ALL A MUST VISIT BUILDING GOOD VIEWS ALL THE WAY
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