30 Rockefeller Plaza

30 록펠러 플라자

30 Rockefeller Plaza, nicknamed 30 Rock, is a skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center. It was finished in 1933, stands 66 stories and about 260 m (850 feet) tall, and was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood, the lead architect of the complex. When it opened it was the third tallest building in the world.

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At a glance

Country: United States
Location: New York, USA
Built: 1933
Height: 259 m
Type: Skyscraper

Quick answers

Where is 30 Rockefeller Plaza?

30 Rockefeller Plaza is in New York, USA, United States.

When was 30 Rockefeller Plaza built?

30 Rockefeller Plaza was built in 1933.

How tall is 30 Rockefeller Plaza?

30 Rockefeller Plaza is about 259 m tall.

The Art Deco centrepiece of Rockefeller Center, home of the Top of the Rock observation deck.

The tower is best known as the home of the television network NBC, and its nickname inspired the TV comedy 30 Rock. Over the years it was named for its main tenants: the RCA Building, the GE Building, and since 2015 the Comcast Building. It also holds the Rainbow Room restaurant and the Top of the Rock observation deck. The whole Rockefeller Center is a New York City landmark and a National Historic Landmark.

Shape and design

The building has three parts: the tall 66-story tower on the east, a windowless section in the middle, and a 16-story annex on the west. It follows a 1916 city rule that made tall buildings step back as they rise, but its stepped shape was also chosen for looks. The outside is limestone with granite at the base, and about 6,000 windows are separated by aluminum strips. The architects were a team called the Associated Architects of Rockefeller Center, led by Raymond Hood.

Building it and opening it

Work on the steel frame began in March 1932, and the first tenant moved in on April 22, 1933. The official opening was delayed by an argument over Man at the Crossroads, a mural by the painter Diego Rivera that was once in the lobby. The Rainbow Room and the observation deck opened in the mid-1930s, and shops were added to the ground floor in the 1950s. The building was renamed for GE in 1988 and was renovated in 2014 before taking the name Comcast Building in 2015.

Two stubborn neighbours

Two small buildings on Sixth Avenue refused to leave when the tower was planned, so 30 Rock was built around them. At the southwest corner stood Hurley's restaurant, a popular meeting spot for NBC stars and bosses that kept serving until 1999. At the northwest corner a grocer named John F. Maxwell kept his property until he died in 1962, partly because of a mix-up in which neither side thought the other wanted to deal.

Fun facts

The famous 1932 photo 'Lunch atop a Skyscraper' was taken while it was being built.
It was the third tallest building in the world when it opened in 1933.
The sitcom 30 Rock was named after the building's nickname.
The building has about 6,000 windows.
It has its own ZIP Code, 10112.