The area where the Rockefeller
Center is located was originally planned as the new location
for the Metropolitan Opera.
The original area, between 48th
and 51st streets, Fifth and Sixth avenue, was a red-light
district owned by Columbia University. John D. Rockefeller
Jr. leased the area on behalf of the Metropolitan Opera. The
design of the complex was done by the architect Benjamin Wistar
Morris. When the Met abandoned the project after the 1929 stock
market crash, Rockefeller came up with a plan for a corporate
complex to house the new radio and television corporations.
Radio City was born. The Rockefeller Center, known as the 'city
in the city' is an exceptional example of civic planning. All
buildings share a common design style, Art Deco, and are connected
to each other via an underground concourse, the Catacombs.
The complex is nevertheless well integrated in the City, especially
along Fifth Avenue.
In 1959 and the early seventies, the Rockefeller Center
was extended with 5 additional buildings along sixth Avenue. |
