Rockefeller Center
The Rockefeller Center is a centrally located complex in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It consists of a total of 21 high-rise buildings and extends across three blocks in a square between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue ), West 47th Street and West 52nd Street. With a height of 259 meters and a total of 70 floors, the GE Building is the tallest building of Rockefeller Center and beyond the 13- highest in New York.
History
The ambitious project began in 1926 with the desire of urban Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, to build a new house. The concept of a single building with a place in the middle goes to the design of the architect of the Opera, Benjamin Wistar Morris, back. John D. Rockefeller II was convinced of this idea so that he eventually took a leading role in the implementation of the project.
After the stock market crash of 1929, the opera got out of the project. She built her new house 40 years later, to the west of Central Park in Lincoln Center. Rockefeller, however, now faced found several expensive single plots. The nature of the project changed dramatically and now has been strictly commercial - and it was a success, as opposed to the Empire State Building (where many offices were empty long ). 1929 Rockefeller signed with the owner of the land - Columbia University - a lease for 24 years.
The construction of the buildings in the Art Deco style began in 1931. It created a unique ensemble of different but stylistically consistent and interrelated buildings, which are all aligned. These buildings were planned by a group of architects, headed by Raymond Hood. For the artistic design of buildings and equipment, among other things, the Mexican painter Diego Rivera and the American sculptor Lee Lawrie and Paul Manship were responsible. The General Electric Building was built in 1933 as RCA Victor Building and renamed in 1988, two years after General Electric took over RCA.
Later, in the 1960s and 1970s, four buildings were built in the International Style to the side opposite the older parts of the complex side of the street on the Avenue of the Americas. Today, they belong also to Rockefeller Center. In 1985, the status was awarded the General Electric Building as a National Historic Landmark.
The entire Rockefeller Center complex was purchased in 1989 by Mitsubishi Estate. Ten years later, Tishman Speyer Properties bought the original art deco building from Mitsubishi.
On 1 November 2005, the observation deck on the 70th floor of the General Electric Building was re-opened under the name of Top of the Rock after almost 20 years. It was originally opened in 1933, then and designed the deck of a luxury liner, and 1986 closed again after the Rainbow Room Bar expanded in the 65th floor. The two works of art " Joie ", a 10 meter high chandelier in the foyer, and " Radiance ", a revolving crystal wall with a total of 160 m² of space on the 67th floor, is provided by the German artist and designer Michael Hammers.
The complex
Architecture
Rockefeller Center was a completely new step in the history of modern urban architecture. Here a wealthy businessman ( John D. Rockefeller ) has implemented a complex urban concept. What was new was that not only one skyscraper was built, but a group of buildings as an architectural unit in the center of a metropolis.
The tall buildings of Rockefeller Center are not square shaped, but rectangular such as disks are stretched to maximum use of sunlight and to provide as many rooms as long as possible sunlight. No point in the interior could be more than nine meters from a window. The lining of the entire Rockefeller Center is made of white limestone, which comes from a quarry in Indiana. It contains many fossils of animals that lived in the sea 300 million years ago.
Building and Grounds
The General Electric Building (originally RCA Victor Building ) is both the highest and the most famous building of Rockefeller Center. With 259 meters and 70 floors, it is the zwölfthöchste skyscraper in New York City (2012 ). Here is the headquarters of NBC and MSNBC. In addition to their offices also studios of the television station located here, where the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Today, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live and more productions are recorded and filmed by NBC. After the address of the building, the NBC sitcom 30 Rock is named. In addition to NBC and General Electric has offices here. Also, the General Electric Building is one of the major tourist attractions in New York City.
Is known among other things, the Prometheus statue in the foreground of the building. This is at the Lower Plaza, originally the entrance passage should be to the shops in the basement, but during the economic crisis, it was the luxury boutiques bad. 1936 therefore fell to a new advertising strategy, namely remodel the Plaza depending on the season and they - and that was the most audacious idea - to transform the winter in an ice rink. This measure was very successful and turned this place in the middle of Rockefeller Center in a social meeting between rich and poor. In summer the area is used as a concert space in the heart of New York. At Christmas time, the Lower Plaza is known for the huge Christmas tree; the Norwegian spruce is usually 23-27 m in height and at least 10 m width of the largest in the United States. There is a nearly 3 m large and busy with 25,000 crystals Swarovski Star at the top. The approximately 30,000 lights of the tree are ignited each year by the current Mayor of New York ( Tree Lighting Ceremony ).
Furthermore, it should get you on the grounds of the Rockefeller Center each nation its own building. So there is a Maison Francaise, the British Empire Building, a Palazzo d'Italia and the International Building. All buildings of the complex are connected by underground shopping streets together, in which except shops and cafes and restaurants. There are also the shafts of the New York subway. The foundation of the complex is built up to 26 meters deep.
The Radio City Music Hall is also located on the grounds of the Rockefeller Center. It was completed in December 1932 and was then known as the largest theater in the world.
Rockefeller Center was the first building in 1969 as the Twenty -five Year Award from the American Institute of Architects awarded that characterizes exemplary fulfillment of user needs and the creativity of the architect to complete a distance of 25 years.
Panorama
The most famous picture that has emerged in connection with the Rockefeller Center, is photography Lunch atop a Skyscraper. Charles Clyde Ebbets she has taken on September 29, 1932 at the 69th floor of the Rockefeller Center, just before its completion. It shows construction workers of the adjacent building located in the RCA Building (since 1986 General Electric Building ).
Address
1 Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan, NY 10020
The official address of the General Electric Building is 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112. On the whole, Rockefeller Center stretches from 49th to 51st Street and from Fifth to Seventh Avenue.