Home to the National Broadcasting Company, Radio City Music Hall’s rockettes, the Rainbow Room, and a famous holiday Christmas tree (bottom), Rockefeller Center (top) was built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1931, and its art deco design created by Raymond Hood.  Rockefeller Center is actually a complex of 19 buildings, numerous shops and the Top of the Rock observation deck which offers the best view of the downtown Manhattan skyline.  (A visit to the top includes a video history of Rockefeller Center and NBC television narrated by Tom Brokaw.  Tours of Radio City Music Hall and of NBC Television studios are also available.)   

 

First known as the RCA Building, it became the GE Building when General Electric acquired RCA.  During the construction of the building, Mexican and socialist artist, Diego Rivera, painted a mural for the Center’s lobby.  The mural, entitled “Man at the Crossroads Looking with Hope and High Vision to the Choosing of a New and Better Future,” created a major controversy because it included a portrait of Russian communist Vladimir Lenin.  Rivera was dismissed and his mural destroyed in 1934.  On a lighter note, Rockefeller Center gets a mention in the George Gershwin’s song, “They All Laughed,” as the lyrics note:  “They all laughed at Rockefeller Center, now they’re fighting to get in.”  Johnny Carson’s Tonight show was first broadcast live from a studio here; currently Saturday Night Live is filmed in that same studio.  The Today Show has originated from here for many years.  On the Fifth Avenue side of the building, there is an Atlas sculpture and a skating rink featuring a gold statue of Prometheus.  The plaza also has 200 flag poles which fly flags of United Nation countries.