Shop and Dine in NYC - Rockefeller Center

A premier shopping and dining location, Rockefeller Center is a national historic landmark located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.  It is a large complex of 19 high-rise commercial buildings located between 48th and 51st streets, commissioned by the Rockefeller family.

Originally, John D. Rockefeller intended the area for an opera house, but after the stock market crash of 1929 and continuous delays, Rockefeller was forced to abandon the original plans and move ahead as sole financier of one of the largest private building project in modern times. The original opera house project was not included, and instead there arose 14 buildings in the Art Deco Style.  Rockefeller Center opened in 1939.  For a time, it also served as the base of U.S. operations of British Intelligence and British Security Coordination during the war, with Room 3603 the principal operations center for Allied Intelligence.

At present, Rockefeller Center is composed of two building complexes: the original 1930s 14 Art Deco office buildings, with an additional building across 51st Street that was later built in 1947.  The second is a set of four towers along the west side of the Avenue of the Americas.  At the heart of Rockefeller Center is 30 Rockefeller Plaza, which lies under the shadow of 30 Rockefeller Center, also called Comcast Building, and sometimes 30 Rock. 

The Lower Plaza is where the annual famed Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is lit, and also the popular ice skating rink. At the top of 30 Rock is the Center’s observation deck, which gives visitors an amazing 360-degree panoramic view of New York City. Rockefeller Center is also home to Radio City Music Hall, or Radio City, with an interior that boasts the world’s greatest example of Art Deco design, and seats 6,000 people.  The Center itself is sometimes referred to simply as “Radio City.” For those looking to shop and dine, there is an underground pedestrian passage that runs from 47th to 51st street, from Fifth Avenue to Seventh Avenue. 

Access can be had through any of six landmark buildings, elevators and restaurants surrounding the skating rink.  This passage is filled with shops and restaurants for the enterprising tourist.  Over all, Rockefeller Center has over 100 unique fashion, gifts and souvenir shops, and just as many and as varied restaurants where you can grab a quick lunch, have a cocktail, or have an amazing fine dining experience.

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