Rockefeller Center, New York City — Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings in midtown Manhattan, stretching from 48th to 51st Streets between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It's one of the largest private building projects ever undertaken and a masterpiece of Art Deco design. Construction began in 1931, during the Great Depression, and the core complex was completed by 1939 at a cost of about $250 million (roughly $1.7 billion today). The project was originally planned as the new home of the Metropolitan Opera, but when the Opera withdrew, John D. Rockefeller Jr. pressed forward alone, creating a "city within a city." The center is famous for several things: the annual Christmas tree lighting (a tradition since 1931), the ice-skating rink, the Today Show studios, and Radio City Music Hall, which opened in 1932 as the world's largest indoor theatre. The complex also contains one of the most significant collections of public Art Deco artwork in the world, including murals, sculptures, and reliefs throughout the buildings and plazas. The original 30 Rockefeller Plaza, now known as 30 Rock, is home to NBC Studios and features the Top of the Rock observation deck on the 70th floor, with 360-degree views of Manhattan including the Empire State Building and Central Park. Rockefeller Center was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. If you're on a Questo quest through midtown Manhattan, Rockefeller Center is a stop where Depression-era ambition created something that still defines the New York skyline.