Editing Rockefeller Center (section)

===Lower Plaza===
At the front of 30 Rock is the Lower Plaza, located in the very center of the complex and below ground level.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=64}}<ref name="NYTimes-Rockefeller-Plaza-1932">{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/06/10/100759216.pdf|title=Rockefeller City to Have Big Plaza|date=June 10, 1932|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The center plaza was part of the plans for the canceled Metropolitan Opera House. Although the opera house was canceled in 1929, the plaza was retained in subsequent plans.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=167}}{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=40}} Originally, the plaza would have been located at ground level with a promenade called Channel Gardens, which led westward from Fifth Avenue to the plaza.{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=40}} In the March 1931 revision to the complex's blueprint, the center plaza was enhanced and sunken.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=167}}{{sfn|Weisman|1959|p=56}} The sunken plaza was originally supposed to be oval-shaped,{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=40}}{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|pp=62–63}}{{sfn|Weisman|1959|p=56}} but the plaza was later changed to a rectangular shape.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=64}}{{sfn|Weisman|1959|p=57}}<ref name="NYTimes-Rockefeller-Plaza-1932"/> The sunken rectangular plaza, planted with shrubs, provided a sense of privacy and enclosure when it was originally built.{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=42}}

The plaza's main entrance is through the Channel Gardens, a {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}}, {{convert|200|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} planted pedestrian esplanade running westward from Fifth Avenue between the British Empire Building and La Maison Francaise.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=159}}{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1939|pp=334–335}}  The steeply sloping promenade was originally furnished with six narrow pools in the center of the space, each surrounded by hedges. The pools are topped with fountain heads designed by [[Rene Chambellan]], each representing a different attribute: leadership, will, thought, imagination, energy, and alertness.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=159}}{{sfn|Roussel|2006|p=97}} Chambellan also designed the fountains' drain covers with various bronze depictions of sea creatures such as turtles and crabs.{{sfn|Roussel|2006|p=99}} During the winter, the Channel Gardens' fountains were shut off and decorated with [[Valerie Clarebout]]'s sculptures of angels. The twelve sculptures, each measuring {{convert|8|ft|m}} tall, have been placed in the gardens every winter since 1954.{{sfn|Roussel|2006|p=102}} At the western end of the promenade is a plaque commemorating the original Elgin Gardens, as well as a bronze monumental plaque to John D. Rockefeller Jr (see [[#Plaque|below]]). From there, a flight of the steps descends toward the rink, then splits into two different stairs heading both north and south.{{sfn|Adams|1985|pp=160–161}}{{sfn|Weisman|1959|p=56}}

The western end of the plaza contains [[Paul Manship]]'s 1934 masterwork, ''[[Prometheus (Manship)|Prometheus]]''.{{sfn|Federal Writers' Project|1939|p=336}}{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=64}}<ref name="NYTimes-Prometheus-1934" />{{sfn|Roussel|2006|pp=101, 105}}  The statue stands in a {{convert|60|by|16|ft|m|adj=on}} fountain basin in front of a grey rectangular wall.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=168}} The [[Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree]] is placed above the statue from November to January every year; it is usually put in place and lit the week after [[Thanksgiving]], and taken down the week after [[New Year's Day]].<ref name=6sqft-History-2016>{{cite news|url=https://www.6sqft.com/the-history-of-the-rockefeller-center-christmas-tree-a-nyc-holiday-tradition/|title=The History of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, a NYC Tradition|work=www.6sqft.com|date=November 29, 2016}}</ref> The first tree was erected in 1934,<ref name="NYTimes-Tree-1934"/> and as successive trees received more lavish decorations, the tradition gradually became known worldwide.<ref name=6sqft-History-2016/>
[[File:New York Christmas tree and skating-rink.jpg|thumb|The ice rink and Christmas tree]]
Much of the plaza's outdoor section is occupied by an [[ice rink]]. Installed in 1936, it replaced unprofitable retail space that had been constructed as part of the original center.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|pp=92–93}} Originally intended as a "temporary" measure,{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=93}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=360}}<ref name=pbs/> the rink became an immediate tourist attraction upon opening, becoming one of the world's most famous skating rinks in later years.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=93}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/26/travel/beautiful-ice-rinks/index.html|title=What are the world's best ice skating rinks?|first1=Laura |last1=Ma |first2=Jason |last2=Kwok|website=CNN|date=November 26, 2013 |access-date=December 19, 2016}}</ref><ref name=NYTimes-Skating-Pond-1936/> In 1939, a permanent {{convert|120|by|60|ft|m|adj=on}} rink was installed, which necessitated the replacement of the center staircase from Channel Gardens.<ref>{{harvnb|Adams|1985|p=169}}.
* For a reference to the roller skating rink's opening, see: {{cite news | title=Trees and Birds Stir in 6th Ave. | work=The New York Times | date=April 18, 1940 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1940/04/18/92942721.pdf | access-date=November 25, 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=42}} Its popularity inspired the construction of a skating rink in the former Center Theatre, and for a short time, there were also proposals to convert the lower plaza's ice rink to a [[roller skating rink]] during the springtime.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=169}}
[[File:ROCKFELLER CENTER NEW YORK (14606671466).jpg|thumb|Flagpoles at the Lower Plaza]]
<span class="anchor" id="Flags"></span>The northern, southern, and eastern sides of the plaza are surrounded by a walkway that is several steps below street level, with staircases at either western end as well as at the plaza's Channel Gardens entrance. Some 200 flagpoles surround the plaza's perimeter at ground level, installed at regular intervals along the walkway and Rockefeller Plaza.{{Sfn|Adams|1985|pp=169–170}} The poles were installed in 1942 and were originally intended to be temporary.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=416}}<ref name="NYTimes-Vista-1942">{{cite news | title=Vista for Easter | work=The New York Times | date=April 4, 1942 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1942/04/04/88501467.pdf | access-date=December 12, 2017}}</ref> The flags later became permanent installations, fitting in with the nearby International Complex.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=169}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=416}} The poles originally displayed the flags of the [[United Nations]]' [[United Nations member states|member countries]],{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=169}} although in later years they also carried flags of the [[U.S. state]]s and [[United States territory|territories]], or decorative and seasonal motifs.<ref name=virtual/> Originally, there were 26 flags for each of the members of the United Nations,<ref name="NYTimes-Vista-1942"/> but as more countries became UN members, additional rows of poles were added on the north and south sides of the plaza.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=170}} During national and state holidays, every pole carries the [[flag of the United States]].<ref name=virtual>{{cite web| url=http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/New_York_State/New_York_City-841252/Things_To_Do-New_York_City-Rockefeller_Center-BR-3.html |title=Rockefeller Center, New York City |publisher=VirtualTourist |date=March 13, 2008| access-date=March 6, 2014}}</ref> The flags' ropes are secured with locks to prevent people from tampering with the flags.<ref>{{cite web | last=Kilgannon | first=Corey | title=Questions Fly Over a Flag Flown Upside Down | website=City Room | date=January 17, 2012 | url=//cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/questions-fly-over-a-flag-flown-upside-down/ | access-date=February 19, 2018}}</ref>

<span class="anchor" id="Plaque"></span>In July 1962, two years after John Rockefeller Jr.'s death, the center's management placed a plaque at the plaza, containing a list of ten principles in which he believed. The creed was first expressed in 1941. Rockefeller's beliefs include "the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" (the first principle) and "truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order" (the sixth principle).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/07/17/82055501.pdf|title=John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s Creed Is Unveiled in a Memorial Here; Ten Beliefs Inscribed on a Marble Slab Dedicated in Rockefeller Plaza by Governor and Two Brothers|date=July 17, 1962|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 30, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The architect [[I.&nbsp;M. Pei]] praised Rockefeller Center's lower plaza as being "perhaps the most successful open space in the United States, perhaps in the world", due to its success in drawing visitors.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=170}}{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=223}} The plaza has also inspired similar developments around the world.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=170}}{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=7}}