Print this page Rockefeller Center: City Within A City
J.M. Syken
Course Outline
In this course, we will examine the background and history of the creation of Rockefeller Center in New York City. This examination will include a review of the early history of the site from colonial times, its ownership by Columbia University (a.k.a. “Upper Estate”) and subsequent sale for development as a commercial complex. We will examine the initial plan to develop the complex around a new home for the Metropolitan Opera and changes to this plan resultant from the onset of the Great Depression.
The “modernist” architecture of the structures and their construction will also be discussed, in particular the work of lead project architect Raymond Hood. The magnificent art and sculpture, gardens and public amenities will be of great interest as will be the role the Center plays in the cultural life of the city it serves. The “Showplace of the Nation” – Radio City Music Hall, and its many unique technical and aesthetic features will be discussed as well as the ancillary theatres that no longer exist. Maintenance and operations and the post-WWII westward extension of Rockefeller Center will also be highlighted.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will:
- Understand/appreciate the origins of the site and how such a large parcel of land was available for development in midtown-Manhattan in the late 1920s;
- Understand/appreciate the initial development plan centered around relocating the Metropolitan Opera from its inadequate home;
- Understand/appreciate the critical role played by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in personally financing the project and saving it from failure;
- Understand/appreciate the scheme of “Mountains and Molehills” that was the basis of the design of the complex;
- Understand/appreciate the role of Raymond Hood as lead architect and his influences on the site plan and architecture, in particular the centerpiece: 30 Rockefeller Plaza;
- Understand/appreciate the construction effort and the story behind the famous photograph of workmen eating their lunch on a slender steel beam high above the city;
- Understand/appreciate the public amenities such as the Channel Gardens and Sunken Plaza and the role they play in the cultural life of NYC;
- Understand/appreciate the magnificent artwork adorning the buildings and public places within and without, their creators and symbolic meaning/s;
- Understand/appreciate the creation of Radio City Music Hall as the world’s largest theater and the many technological innovations featured in its stage productions;
- Understand/appreciate the rise and fall of the Center Theatre and the Newsreel Theatre;
- Understand/appreciate the operations and maintenance of the complex and the Center’s reputation for excellence; and
- Understand/appreciate the creation of the Rockefeller Center Extension in the post-WWII years.
Intended Audience
This course is intended for architects, engineers and other design professionals.
Benefit to Attendees
The attendee/s will gain an intimate knowledge and insight into one of the greatest commercial development projects ever conceived and executed: Rockefeller Center.
Course Introduction
The course includes an in-depth PowerPoint presentation and the viewing of documentary films.
Course Content
In this course, you are required to view/study the following slideshow and the materials contained in the web pages:
Rockefeller Center: City Within A City (printable handout in PDF, 10 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)
Rockefeller Center: City Within A City (non-printable slideshow for screen-viewing only, 63 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)
Archival/Documentary Films:
DURATION: 13:00
Note A: Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.
Course Summary
At the “Last Rivet” ceremony held in 1939 for the completion of the steel frame for the final building of Rockefeller Center (the U.S. Rubber Co. Building), a jubilant Fiorello LaGuardia – then Mayor of the City of New York, asked John D. Rockefeller, Jr. – the man most responsible for its creation, if he would like the opportunity to create more such “Centers” around the city. Perhaps this was the greatest compliment that could be paid to a project conceived in the heyday of the roaring ‘20s and built in the darkest days of the Great Depression. It was built at one of the best-ever times to build such a complex with labor and material prices severely reduced; by about one-third of what they would have been otherwise. For Rockefeller, it was not only good business but good moral business; putting men back to work at a time when there was no work was a higher calling than just turning a profit. The result was the “city within the city.” While the Empire State Building (1931) was deridingly referred to as “The Empty State Building” – failing to attract corporate tenants as first conceived, by the time of the Rockefeller Center’s completion in 1940, it was near full occupancy with prestige corporate and international tenants. The high-speed elevators, air-conditioning and stellar maintenance of the complex played a part in this phenomenon of course, but there was also the beautiful “modernist” architecture of the buildings, inviting public spaces and celebration of art and sculpture all around. The additional “five percent” allocated for “making it beautiful” was, no doubt, money well spent.
Related Links
For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_Center
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_Building
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_City_Music_Hall
(Film: Top of the Rock - 3:33)
http://archive.org/details/BehindYo1947 (history of NBC at RC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZxCYpSXQTs&list=PLct3LriY6JUzXBt6L6b3aaT3dk4ZIvemz&index=8 (Film: Building Big: Skyscrapers - 1:04:48)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHMPR7flpf4
(Film: How Tall Buildings Tame the Wind - 09:33)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U3vB9P6Sec
(Film: Top 5 tallest Skyscrapers by 2021 - 05:14)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9mp-2w9aFU
(Film: What are Groundscrapers? - 03:15)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoGcnJ15TlM
(What are Earthscrapers? - 03:38)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwawntVZYEg
(What are Oceanscrapers? - 04:00)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIYdystZDJ4
(Ironworkers from Newfoundland: Walking Iron [1986] - 17:22
(Film: High Steel - 15:26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy8tDcdUUJY
(Film: Why NY's Skyscrapers Keep Changing Shape - 27:31)
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
