Rockefeller Center is more than a building!

New York’s Rockefeller Center is an architectural complex designed for commerce at the foot of the famous Top of the Rock observation deck.

Located on the island of Manhattan, it is composed of 19 different buildings, which primarily house luxury stores, restaurants, entertainment spaces, and the largest indoor performance venue in the United States, the famous Radio City Music Hall.

Rockefeller Center is located south of Central Park, between Fifth Avenue and the Avenue of the Americas. It faces the magnificent St. Patrick’s Cathedral and is only a few steps from the Museum of Modern Art – MoMA. Many tourists include it in their New York City tours.

History of Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center is a project initiated by John Davison Rockefeller. In 1920, the businessman who had made his fortune in the oil fields wanted to diversify the origin of his wealth by investing in centers and commercial spaces.

After studying various options, he decided to build several buildings in Midtown, Manhattan. Rockefeller Center was designed as a city within a city. There were offices, shops, hotels, parking lots, supermarkets, auditoriums, gyms, and even a swimming pool or ice rink.

The notion of the Rockefeller Center as a “true center of life” was based on the presence of walkways that allowed people to circulate from building to building through the roofs. In order to embellish these heights, gardens were created. It should be remembered that underground tunnels also allow you to go from one building to another.

But in 1937, when John Davidson Rockefeller died, his son, John Davison Rockefeller Junior, took over. Because of the pharaonic aspect of the project, the amount of money needed and especially the crash of 1929 which is still in the minds of people, the construction of the Rockefeller Center will be lightened and especially spaced in time.

For example, the opera house that was to be located in the heart of the complex was simply canceled. Nevertheless, two theaters were built: the Radio City Music Hall, designed by Donald Deskey in 1932 with its 6,000 seats, and the RKO Roxy (the Center Theater). This second hall was demolished in 1954.

On May 17, 1930, the first excavators arrived on the site and 9 years later, 14 Art Deco buildings, designed by Raymond Hood and an architectural firm, stood proudly on Fifth Avenue. The inauguration took place on November 1, 1939. It was on this last date that John Davison Rockefeller Jr. inaugurated the Rockefeller Plaza complex.

After the end of World War II, other buildings were added to the complex. Most were intended for office use, but the presence of stores was also preserved.

Prestigious tenants moved into the Rockefeller Center. CBS and NBC radio stations are among them. So did Time-Life, McGraw-Hill, and News Corporation/Fox News Channel.

In 1989, the Rockefeller Center was bought by the Mitsubishi Corporation. During this period, the famous auction house Christie’s moved into the complex. In the year 2000, Mitsubishi sold Rockefeller Center to Jerry Speyer of Tishman Speyer Properties.

All these financial moves do not change the original spirit of John Davidson Rockefeller. A city within a city, Rockefeller Center is the place to be for shopping and having a good time.