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Ah, Rockefeller Center. A “city within a city”. Consisting of 19 high-rise commercial buildings, this center is a hallmark of Manhattan. Named after John D. Rockefeller Jr., the center was commissioned by the Rockefeller family and was developed beginning in 1930. It is known as the largest private building project ever to be conceived in modern times. The centerpiece of the center is the 30 Rockefeller Center, also known as the Comcast building, or 30 Rock. This site is home to one of the most popular landmarks in all of Manhattan: The Top of the Rock. Standing on the observation deck behind sheets of glass, one can stare and gaze upon the breathtaking view and spectacle of New York. From up here you can see Central Park, the Empire State Building (King Kong climbing if you’re lucky) and much more down in the Big Apple.
Another spot in here is Radio City Music Hall. At the time of its construction in 1932 it was the largest theater in the world! Come here to see shows and comedy routines to leave your troubles behind. The interior is by far one of the world’s greatest examples of the Art Deco design.
Easily one of the most famous stops in all of Rockefeller Center is the Ice Skating and the annual Christmas Tree, made famous over countless movies and tv shows. A stop here can put you in the spot where young Kevin McCallister went when he was lost in New York, or where Buddy the Elf sees the Christmas tree and skates with his date Jovie. Thanks to Hollywood, this rink has become a quintessential holiday activity for New Yorkers and tourists alike.
Some amazing photo opportunities can be taken in some of the incredible art located in the Center. You can stand in front of the Statue of Atlas, holding the world upon his shoulders, boldly and looking down at pedestrians and tourists alike, frozen in time. Or the Statue of Prometheus, arguably one of, if not the best-known sculpture in New York. Almost as if flying gracefully past skaters in the rink, it represents the theme in the quote off the wall behind him, etched in red granite: “Prometheus, Teacher in Every Art, Brought the Fire That Hath Proved to Mortals a Means to Mighty Ends.”
One last interesting fact to literally take home is that in late 2010, former architect Adam Reed Tucker designed a lego model of the center for the well known LEGO Architecture Series.
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