Editing Rockefeller Center (section)

====Radio City====
{{for|more details on the individual buildings|Center Theatre (New York City)|30 Rockefeller Plaza|Radio City Music Hall}}
[[File:GE Building Oct 2005.jpg|thumb|30 Rockefeller Plaza and its former "[[General Electric|GE]]" neon sign]]
The east side of Sixth Avenue, officially known as Avenue of the Americas,<ref>{{cite streetbook|page=24}}</ref> contains most of the buildings that were built specifically for the proposed radio complex. These buildings, which comprise "Radio City", are 1230 Avenue of the Americas, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Radio City Music Hall and 1270 Avenue of the Americas.{{sfn|Adams|1985|pp=29–30}}{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1939|p=332}}<ref name=SRW-Radio-City-1937/> The idea for an integrated media complex somewhere came in 1920, when [[Owen D. Young]], the chairman of RCA parent [[General Electric]], suggested that RCA combine its then-disparate offices into one location.{{sfn|Balfour|1978|pp=20–21}}

<span class="anchor" id="1230 Avenue of the Americas"></span><span class="anchor" id="U.S. Rubber Company Building"></span><span class="anchor" id="Simon & Schuster Building"></span>The western half of the southernmost block of the complex along Sixth Avenue, between 48th and 49th streets, contains the former U.S. Rubber Company Building (now Simon & Schuster Building) at 1230 Avenue of the Americas.{{sfn|White|Willensky|Leadon|2010|pp=326, 327}} The last structure in the original complex to be built,{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|pp=98–99}}{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=231}} it was topped out in November 1939.<ref name=NYTimes-Complete-1939/> The 23-story building contains two 7-story wings on its north and south sides.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=237}} It was renamed after [[Uniroyal]] in 1967,<ref>{{cite news | title=Now it's Uniroyal | work=The New York Times | date=February 28, 1967 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1967/02/28/83582264.pdf | access-date=November 22, 2017}}</ref> and again after [[Simon & Schuster]] in 1976.<ref>{{cite web | last=Sterne | first=Michael | title=Simon & Schuster Takes New Lease on New York | website=The New York Times | date=July 8, 1976 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/08/archives/simon-schuster-takes-new-lease-on-new-york.html | access-date=November 22, 2017}}</ref> 1230 Avenue of the Americas was expanded to the east in 1954 after the [[Center Theatre (New York City)|Center Theatre]] adjacent to it was demolished.<ref name=NYTimes-Skyscraper-Stilts-1954>{{cite news | title=Skyscraper Stands on Stilts Over Wreckers | work=The New York Times | date=October 9, 1954 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1954/10/09/87483057.pdf | access-date=November 15, 2017}}</ref> The 19-story annex, designed by Wallace Harrison and [[Max Abramovitz]], had a glass facade on the lowest two stories—reflecting the design of the former American Airlines Building across Sixth Avenue—and a limestone facade above the second story. It is aligned with the axis of [[10 Rockefeller Plaza]] on the eastern side of the block,{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=231}} and its northern and southern elevations contain five setbacks.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=237}} The exterior also houses an abstract bas-relief created by [[Naum Gabo]].{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=425}}

<span class="anchor" id="Center Theatre"></span>The Center Theatre, at 1236 Sixth Avenue, was the only structure in the original Rockefeller Center to be demolished.{{sfn|White|Willensky|Leadon|2010|pp=326, 327}} Originally the "RKO Roxy Theatre", it was renamed after Fox Theatres sued Roxy Rothafel over the naming rights to the nearby [[Roxy Theatre (New York City)|Roxy Theatre]], which Rothafel had originally managed.<ref name="NYTimes-Roxy-Name-1933">{{cite web | title=Old Roxy Keeps Right To Its Name; Circuit Court In 2-To-1 Decision Orders Radio City Theatre To Drop Word. New Appeal Is Planned Rko Permitted To Advertise Its Employment Of Rothafel, But Without Causing Confusion. | work=The New York Times | date=May 16, 1933 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/05/16/105795341.pdf | access-date=November 22, 2017}}</ref> The 3,700-seat Center Theatre had a short [[massing]] (general shape) in place due to height restrictions at the time, which prohibited construction above theater auditoriums.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=46}} The theater's stage was enlarged for musicals in 1936, and four years later, 380 seats were removed in order to make way for an ice rink for skating spectaculars.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=231}} It showed film, musicals, ice-skating competitions, and television through its 21-year existence. Due to its duplication of the larger Radio City Music Hall's activities, it was deemed uneconomical almost from its opening,{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1939|p=339}} and was considered redundant by the 1950s.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=51}} In 1954, it was replaced by the expansion of 1230 Avenue of the Americas.<ref name=NYTimes-Skyscraper-Stilts-1954/>{{sfn|White|Willensky|Leadon|2010|p=327}}

<span class="anchor" id="30 Rockefeller Plaza"></span><span class="anchor" id="30 Rockefeller Plaza"></span>The block immediately to the north, on Sixth Avenue between 49th and 50th streets, is occupied by [[30 Rockefeller Plaza]] and its western annex at 1250 Sixth Avenue.{{sfn|White|Willensky|Leadon|2010|p=326}} The 70-floor, {{convert|872|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} building anchors the entire complex, and is located on the eastern side of the block.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=4}} Opened in 1933 as the RCA Building,<ref name="NYTimes-RCA-Ready-1933">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/04/30/105128980.pdf|title=Two Skyscrapers Will Open This Week; RCA and John Street Buildings Ready|date=April 30, 1933|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the building has been renamed multiple times, first to the GE Building in 1988, after [[General Electric]] bought RCA,<ref name="Hevesi"/> and then to the Comcast Building in 2014 after [[Comcast]]'s purchase of NBCUniversal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/06/18/bid_farewell_to_30_rocks_ge_sign_comcast_will_top_the_tower.php#more |title=Bid Farewell to 30 Rock's GE Sign; 'Comcast' Will Top the Tower |date=June 18, 2014 |website=Curbed }}</ref><ref name="Roberts 2014"/> 30 Rockefeller Plaza was built as a single structure occupying the entire block between Sixth Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza, and its design was influenced by John Todd's desire for the building to use its [[air rights]] to their maximum potential.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=59}}{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=53}} It has three main segments: the 66-story tower rising from the eastern part of the base with the famous [[Rainbow Room]] restaurant on the 65th floor,{{sfn|White|Willensky|Leadon|2010|p=325}} and, formerly, the Rockefeller family office;<ref name="Roberts 2014"/> a windowless segment in the middle of the base that houses [[NBC Studios (New York City)|NBC Studios]];<ref>{{cite web | title=Contact Us | website=NBCUniversal | url=http://www.nbcuniversal.com/contact-us | access-date=November 16, 2017 | archive-date=September 3, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903185619/http://www.nbcuniversal.com/contact-us  }}</ref> and a shorter 16-story tower on the western part of the base at 1250 Avenue of the Americas.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=59}} As an icon of the complex, 30 Rockefeller Plaza's architecture influenced the design of the rest of the complex,{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=61}} with its limestone facade and [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]]-inspired four-leafed [[spandrel]]s.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=138}}{{sfn|Karp|Gill|1982|p=62}}
[[File:Radio City Music Hall, New York, Manhattan, USA.jpg|thumb|The southwest corner of [[Radio City Music Hall]], as seen diagonally across the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 50th Street]]
<span class="anchor" id="Radio City Music Hall"></span>[[Radio City Music Hall]] at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, occupying the southwestern portion of the block between 50th and 51st streets.{{sfn|White|Willensky|Leadon|2010|pp=325, 326}} The only remaining theater in the complex,{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=40}} it was similar in style to the Center Theatre, but at a larger scale.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=46}} Construction started in December 1931,{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=40}} and the hall opened in December 1932.<ref name="NYTimes-Music-Hall-1932"/><ref name=DailyArgus-Music-Hall-1932/> The {{convert|121|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} Music Hall seats 6,000 people,<ref name="NYTimes-LastStoneMusicHall-1932">{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/08/11/100787345.pdf|title=Facade 'Topped Out' In Rockefeller Unit; Last Stone Laid On Exterior Of Music Hall – Work On Other Buildings Speeded.|date=August 11, 1932|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 14, 2017}}</ref> and since opening has seen over 300 million visitors.<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Sanfilippo | first=Mike | title=Radio City Music Hall | magazine=New York Magazine | date=November 14, 2017 | url=http://nymag.com/listings/attraction/radio-city-music-hall/ | access-date=November 15, 2017}}</ref> Located in a [[niche (architecture)|niche]] adjacent to the neighboring 1270 Avenue of the Americas, the Music Hall is housed under the building's seventh-floor setback.{{sfn|Adams|1985|pp=53–54}}

<span class="anchor" id="RKO Building"></span><span class="anchor" id="1270 Avenue of the Americas"></span>The other building on the block between 50th and 51st streets is 1270 Avenue of the Americas,{{sfn|White|Willensky|Leadon|2010|pp=325, 326}} a 31-story structure with a setback on the sixth floor.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=40}} Originally named the RKO Building for [[RKO Pictures]], it was built over the Music Hall,{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1939|p=337}}{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=35}} and shares many of the same exterior architectural details.<ref name=DailyArgus-Music-Hall-1932/> Construction of the building started in 1931,<ref name="NYTimes-Digging-1931"/> and the building was complete by September 1932.<ref name=TarrytownDN-RKO-Complete-1932/>{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=35}} [[Henry Hofmeister]] designed the building, as well as several other office buildings in the city that were built over theaters.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=35}}{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=35}} The building's entrance design, blending in with that of the other buildings in the Radio City section, is marked by three sculptural [[bas-relief]]s created by [[Robert Garrison (sculptor)|Robert Garrison]] for each of the building's three bays, signifying muses of Contemporary Thought, Morning, and Evening.<ref name="NYTimes-Recent-Installations-1933">{{cite news | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/12/24/105835510.pdf | title=At Rockefeller Center; A Survey of the Recent Installations – Murals and Architectural Sculpture | work=The New York Times | date=December 24, 1933 | access-date=November 14, 2017 | last=Allan Jewell |first=Edward}}</ref>{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=36}}{{sfn|Roussel|2006|p=9}} In 1990, [[Robert Kushner]] created three bronze sculptures of winged spirits for the lobby.{{sfn|Roussel|2006|p=10}} The RKO Building served as headquarters for its namesake company in the 1930s, and was renamed for the [[American Metal Climax Company]] (AMAX), its new owners, in the early 1960s.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=37}}