The Observation Deck Today

Views from Top of the Rock

Fortunately the observation deck reopened again in November 2005, finally giving the nearby Empire State Building's observatory some competition. After a renovation of some 75 million dollars, the Art Deco style observation deck can be visited once again; only the deck chairs have disappeared.

A separate entrance at West 50th Street leads to the elevators. In the elevator, important historic events since 1933 are projected on the transparent roof.

There are in total three levels open to the public, including the roof terrace. The first is on the 67th floor and is completely covered. The observation deck on the 69th floor has glass windshields while the 70th floor is completely open to the elements, offering visitors a fabulous 360 degree view.

Lower Plaza

Lower Plaza

Prometheus Statue

By 1940 Radio City, which became known as Rockefeller Center, consisted of 14 buildings, located around a central sunken plaza, the Lower Plaza. From the plaza you have a nice view of the Prometheus Statue and the GE Building.

Ever since 1933, the famous annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, which marks the unofficial start of New York's holiday season, has taken place here. An enormous tree, decorated with thousands of lights is installed in the area behind the Prometheus Statue. Around the same time, the sunken plaza is converted into a popular outdoor ice skating rink.

Channel Gardens

Atlas Statue

Knowledge
and Wisdom

Industries of the
British Empire

The plaza is connected to Fifth Avenue via a pedestrian street decorated with statues and flowers. This street is known as the Channel Gardens. The Channel Gardens are flanked by two six-story buildings with landscaped rooftops, the British Empire Building and La Maison Française. Another important building in Rockefeller Center is Radio City Music Hall. When built, it was the largest indoor theater in the world with a seating capacity of around 6000. Guided tours give you the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the spectacular Art Deco interior.

Art

Rockefeller Center is also known for the many works of art that enrich the complex. Many of them portray the ideals of Enlightenment, such as 'Progress through Science'.

The most famous artwork at Rockefeller Center is the Prometheus sculpture, a gilded bronze work created in 1934 by the American sculptor Paul Manship. Hovering over a fountain at the sunken plaza, the sculpture shows Prometheus who returns the stolen fire to mankind. He is surrounded by a band that shows the Zodiac signs. Another famous sculpture, from 1937, is the 15ft (4.5 meter) tall bronze statue of Atlas, a creation of Lee Lawrie. The statue, opposite St. Patrick's Cathedral, shows the titan holding the celestial sphere.

The exterior of the buildings at Rockefeller Center is also decorated with eye-catching artwork. One of the most notable is the Art Deco relief entitled 'Knowledge and Wisdom', on the facade of the GE Building, also created by Lawrie. A huge stainless steel relief enlivens the entrance of the Associated Press Building. The work of the Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi symbolizes the different services of the AP news network.

The lobbies of the buildings at Rockefeller Center are also interesting, in particular that of the GE Building, which is decorated with majestic murals created in 1933 by José Maria Sert and Frank Brangwyn.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16