Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center is a sprawling multi-purpose complex in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Comprising 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between Fifth and Seventh Avenue, and 48th and 51st Streets, it was the largest privately held complex of its kind in the world. The project was spearheaded by John D. Rockefeller Jr., aka Junior, began with a 99-year lease on the space from Columbia University in 1928 and construction began from 1930.

Ice-skating rink at Rockefeller Center, New York City
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_York_City_Mai_2009_PD_047.jpg
Author: Bin im Garten


Initially, Rockefeller had intended to build an opera house for the Metropolitan Opera Company on the site, but changed his plans following the 1929 Stock Market Crash and the withdrawal of the opera company from the project. He continued with the enormous project as its sole financier and negotiated a line of credit with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company covering ongoing expenses through the sale of oil company stock.

Rockefeller Center was the largest private building project ever undertaken in modern times. The original complex constructed from 17 May, 1930, comprised 14 buildings in the Art Deco style. These were completed on November 1, 1939 when Junior drove in the final (silver) rivet into 10 Rockefeller Plaza. The name Rockefeller Center was suggested by Ivy Lee, the prominent adviser to the Rockefeller Family, in 1931. Initially Junior was reluctant to use the family name for the project, but was persuaded that it would attract far more tenants.

Statue of Greek Titan, Prometheus, at Rockefeller Center
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NYC_-_Rockefeller_center_-_1558.jpg
Author: Jorge Royan


The naming of the last four buildings in the complex could have become a major controversy in the mid-1930. Ivy Lee and others had attempted to rent them to German companies and called it Deutsches Haus. Junior rejected the proposal following Hitler's aggression towards World War II. The empty office site eventually became International Building North. These four buildings along the Avenue of the Americas were only constructed during the 1960s and 1970s. Unlike the original 14, they were of the International style.

Rockefeller Center comprises over 8,000,000 square feet (743,000 sq metre) on 22 acres in Midtown, bounded by Fifth and Sixth Avenues, and running from 48th Street to 51st Street. The buildings managed by Tishman-Speyer, which co-owns Rockefeller Center, are:

Mall at Rockefeller Center, New York City
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RockefellerCenter4300ppx20.jpg
Author: Fastily


View from Top of the Rock
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Top_of_the_Rock-sightseeing_platform.jpg
Author: Pan.piotr.kruczek


The buildings managed and/or co-owned by Japanese-owned Rockefeller Group are:

Buildings within the Rockefeller Center that have since been demolished are:


Curved Cube, a sculptor by William Crovello at the foyer of Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Time-life_statue.jpg
Author: Filip Maljkovic

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.