Metropolitan Opera

Rockefeller Center

View from the
Empire State Building

GE Building

The area where Rockefeller Center is located was originally planned as the new location for the Metropolitan Opera. At the time the area, situated between 48th and 51st streets and Fifth and Sixth avenues was a red-light district owned by Columbia University. John D. Rockefeller Jr. leased the area on behalf of the Metropolitan Opera.

The design of the complex was created by the American architect Benjamin Wistar Morris. His plan, influenced by the Grand Central Terminal complex included a landscaped garden and a monumental Opera House as well as tall office towers, shops and terraces. The buildings would be connected by a series of bridges and walkways.

However, the stock market crash of 1929 caused the Metropolitan Opera to abandon the ambitious project. Rockefeller then launched a plan for a corporate complex to house the new radio and television corporations. Radio City was born.

Radio City

One of the first buildings completed was the RCA Building (now GE Building), which served as the headquarters of the Radio Corporation of America. The tower, clad in Indiana limestone, is at 70 stories and 256 meters / 850 ft the tallest of the complex. Its design by Raymond Hood - also known from the American Radiator Building in New York and the Tribune Tower in Chicago - was the basis for all future buildings at Radio City.

To lure tenants during the Depression, all efforts were made to ensure efficient use of the available floor space. Thanks to the setbacks each office was assured of natural light. Other assets were fast elevators, air-conditioning and excellent underground connections to the subway.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16