Off Shore Muse

Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan built from 1930-1939 by architect, Raymond Mathewson Hood. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, split by a large sunken square and a private street called Rockefeller Plaza.

Rockefeller Center was added to the National Registry of Historic Places December 23, 1987 and was designated a National Historic Landmark on the same date, December 23, 1987.

Raymond Mathewson Hood

(1881-1934)

Hood was an American architect who worked in the New-Gothic and Art Deco styles. He is best known for his designs of the Tribune Tower in Chicago, the American Radiator Building, the Daily News Building, the McGraw-Hill Building and the RCA Building. Through a short yet highly successful career, Hood exerted towering influence on 20th century architecture as seen by these selected photos.

RCA Building in Rockefeller Center

New York City

30 Rockefeller Plaza formerly named the RCA Building and was renamed the GE Building in 1988.

30 Rockefeller, the tallest skyscraper forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center with 66 floors.

The Rainbow Room and the observation deck opened in the mid-1930s and the retail space was added to the ground floor in the 1950s.

30 Rockefeller Plaza was extensively renovated in 2014 and was renamed for Comcast in 2015.

It was the 65th tallest in the United States and the third tallest building in the world when it opened in 1933 with the first tenant having moved into the building on April 22, 1933.