Editing Rockefeller Center (section)

===Construction===
For the project, 228 buildings on the site were razed and some 4,000 tenants relocated.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=53}}{{sfn|Glancy|1992|p=428}} Demolition of the properties began in 1930.{{sfn|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=12}} All of the buildings' leases had been bought by August 1931,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/08/21/102256674.pdf|title=Radio City Hold-Out Won By Two Icemen; Pop Was Only Runner-Up In Old Tenants' Endurance Test, Final Count Reveals. Abdication Is Complete Rockefeller Interests Settle With Cellar Merchants And Wreckers Move On Last Stronghold.|date=August 21, 1931|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> though there were some tenants on the western and southeastern edges of the plot who refused to leave their property, and Rockefeller Center was built around [[Rockefeller Center#Pre-existing buildings|these buildings]].{{sfn|Alpern|Durst|1996|pp=38, 40}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|pp=93–94, map p.&nbsp;92}} Excavation of the Sixth Avenue side of the complex began in July 1931,<ref name="NYTimes-Digging-1931">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/07/26/118214933.pdf|title='Radio City' Digging To Begin Tomorrow|date=July 26, 1931|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and construction on the first buildings, Radio City Music Hall and the [[Center Theatre (New York City)|Center Theatre]], began later that year.{{sfn|Radio City Music Hall Landmark Designation|1978|p=4}}<ref name=NYSun-Roxy-New-Mood-1932>{{cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252018%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%25201932%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%25201932%2520-%25206106.pdf|title=Roxy Presents New Mood|last=Gilligan|first=Edmund|date=November 29, 1932|work=The New York Sun|access-date=November 11, 2017|page=20|via=[[Fultonhistory.com]]}}</ref> {{Convert|14,000,000|ft3|m3|disp=|spell=In}} of [[Indiana Limestone]] were ordered for the project in December 1931, the largest such order at the time.<ref name="NYTimes-Limestone-1931">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/12/24/98349941.pdf|title=Radio City Towers To Be Of Limestone|date=December 24, 1931|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

[[File:Rockefeller Center, December 1933.jpg|thumb|Construction progress in December 1933]]

The RKO Building was the first structure to be completed, in September 1932,<ref name=TarrytownDN-RKO-Complete-1932>{{Cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%252023%2FTarrytown%2520Ny%2520Daily%2520News%2FTarrytown%2520Ny%2520Daily%2520News%25201932%2FTarrytown%2520Ny%2520Daily%2520News%25201932%2520-%25202981.pdf|title=Nelson Rockefeller To Address Skyscraper Workers Tomorrow|date=September 19, 1932|work=Tarrytown Daily News|access-date=November 10, 2017|page=16|via=[[Fultonhistory.com]]}}</ref> followed by the Music Hall in December 1932<ref name=DailyArgus-Music-Hall-1932>{{Cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252018%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%25201931%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%25201931%2520-%25200398.pdf|title=Mount Vernon Shares Glory At Opening Of Radio City Music Hall In New York|date=December 28, 1932|work=Daily Argus|location=[[Mount Vernon, New York]]|access-date=November 10, 2017|page=16|via=[[Fultonhistory.com]]}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes-Music-Hall-1932">{{cite news | title=Music Hall Marks New Era In Design; Many Traditions In Building Of Theatres Cast Aside For Modern Devices. Color Lighting Featured Effects Of Decorative Scheme Are Dependent On An Elaborate System Of Illumination. |work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331 | date=December 28, 1932 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/12/28/105940014.pdf | access-date=November 12, 2017}}</ref> and the [[British Empire Building]] in April 1933.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=93}} The RCA Building's opening was delayed from May 1 to mid-May because of a controversy over ''[[Man at the Crossroads]]'', a painting in the building's lobby, which was later covered up and removed.{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=185}}  A new street through the complex, Rockefeller Plaza, was constructed in stages between 1933<ref name=NYTimes-Rockefeller-Plaza-1933>{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1933/01/16/105381760.pdf|title=' Rockefeller Plaza' Joins City Directory; Center's New Street and Promenade Named|date=January 16, 1933|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and 1937.<ref name="NYTimes-TimeLife-Opening-1937">{{cite news | title=Rockefeller Unit Ready For Opening | work=The New York Times | date=March 31, 1937 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1937/03/31/94347746.pdf | access-date=November 27, 2017}}</ref> [[Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree|The complex's famed Christmas tree]] in the center of the plaza was erected for the first time in December 1933,<ref name="NYTimes-Tree-1934">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/12/19/94589225.pdf|title=Rockefeller Center Gets A 70-Foot Tree; Holiday Musical Programs To Be Presented At Huge Spruce Set Up In Plaza.|date=December 19, 1934|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and the complex's [[Prometheus (Manship)|Prometheus]] statue was constructed in May 1934.<ref name="NYTimes-Prometheus-1934">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/01/10/94483422.pdf|title=Statue in Center Plaza; Giant Figure of Prometheus Set at Rockefeller Fountain.|date=January 10, 1934|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> By July 1934, the complex had leased 80% of the available space in the six buildings that were already opened.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=88}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/07/27/95489927.pdf|title=Tenants Flock To 5th Av. Centre; Six Rockefeller Buildings In Big Development 80 Per Cent Rented. Forecast Is Exceeded Result Is Held to Show That Business Situation Is Fundamentally Sound.|date=July 27, 1934|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
[[File:Lunch atop a Skyscraper - Charles Clyde Ebbets.jpg|thumb|The iconic photograph ''[[Lunch atop a Skyscraper]]'' depicts workers resting for a meal during the construction of [[30 Rockefeller Plaza]].]]
Work on two more internationally themed retail buildings and a larger, 38-story, {{Convert|512|ft|m|adj=on}} "International Building", started in September 1934. One of the two small buildings was already rented to Italian interests.<ref name="NYTimes-Plans-1934">{{cite news | title=Rockefeller Units To Cost $8,000,000; Plans Filed For Buildings On Fifth Avenue Between 50th And 51st Sts. One Is 38-Story Edifice Foreign Groups Due To Occupy Twin Seven-Story Structures On Avenue Frontage.|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331 | date=May 9, 1934 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/05/09/95045296.pdf | access-date=November 21, 2017}}</ref> The final small building would have been rented by Germany, but Rockefeller ruled this out in 1934 after noticing [[Nazism|National Socialist extremism]] from the country's government.{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=205}}{{sfn|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=12}}{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=69}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|pp=283–284}} The empty office site was downsized and became the "International Building North", rented by various international tenants.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=129}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=285}} In April 1935, developers opened the International Building and its wings.{{sfn|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=12}}<ref name="NYTimes-Skyscraper-Record-1935">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1935/06/26/101514708.pdf|title=New Skyscraper Record; Rockefeller Center Units Notable for Construction Speed.|date=June 26, 1935|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252018%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%25201935%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Sun%25201935%2520-%25202219.pdf|title=463 Leases in Center|date=June 1, 1935|work=New York Sun|access-date=November 11, 2017|page=43|via=[[Fultonhistory.com]]}}</ref>

The underground pedestrian mall and ramp system between 48th and 51st streets was finished in early May.<ref name="NYTimes-Tunnels-1935">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1935/05/04/95502907.pdf|title=Rockefeller City Finishes Tunnels|date=May 4, 1935|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 11, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1936, an ice skating rink replaced the unprofitable retail space on the lower plaza, below ground level.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|pp=92–93}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|pp=358–359}}<ref name=pbs>{{Cite AV media|url=http://www.pbs.org/video/american-experience-rockefellers/|title=WGBH American Experience . The Rockefellers|website=American Experience|access-date=December 19, 2016}}</ref><ref name=NYTimes-Skating-Pond-1936>{{cite news | title=Skating Pond to Open On Rockefeller Plaza | work=The New York Times | date=December 10, 1936 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/12/10/85441848.pdf | access-date=November 14, 2017}}</ref>

The 36-story Time & Life Building,{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=197}}{{efn|The "Time-Life Building" appellation would later apply to [[1271 Avenue of the Americas]], also located in the Rockefeller Center,{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=112}} which opened in 1959.<ref name="NYTimes-Time-1959"/> Afterward, the original Time & Life Building became known as [[1 Rockefeller Plaza]].{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=112}}}} named for anchor tenant [[Time Inc.]],<ref name="NYTimes-Time-Moving-1938"/> was completed in November 1936,{{sfn|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=12}}<ref>{{cite news | title=Steel Work Finished On Rockefeller Unit; Frame for 36-Story Building Is Completed in 43 Days, a Record for Speed. | work=The New York Times | date=November 28, 1936 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/11/28/93534140.pdf | access-date=November 14, 2017}}</ref> replacing an empty plot on the southern block that had been used for vehicle parking.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=219}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=338}} Eleven buildings had been completed by 1937 at a total cost of over $100 million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/01/19/101018623.pdf|title=Rockefeller Will Finish Center At Once to Provide New Jobs|date=1938|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 14, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> A building for [[Associated Press]] on the northern block's empty lot,{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=94}} which had been reserved for the Metropolitan Opera house,<ref name=NYTimes-Abandons-Opera-1937>{{cite news | title=Rockefeller Center Abandons Opera Plans; To Build on Site Long Held for Metropolitan | work=The New York Times | date=May 11, 1937 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1937/05/11/94373567.pdf | access-date=November 21, 2017}}</ref> was topped out by June 1938<ref name="NYTimes-Steelwork-Finished-1938">{{cite news | title=Steel Work Finished; New 15-Story Unit in Rockefeller Center 'Topped Out' | work=The New York Times | date=June 17, 1938 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/06/17/98151818.pdf | access-date=November 20, 2017}}</ref> and occupied by December of that year.<ref>{{cite news | title=Associated Press Occupies New Home | work=The New York Times | date=December 19, 1938 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/12/19/98220019.pdf | access-date=November 22, 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=12}} The presence of Associated Press and Time Inc. expanded Rockefeller Center's scope from strictly a radio-communications complex to a hub of both radio and print media.{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=210}} The Guild, a [[News cinema|newsreel theater]],{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=210}} opened in 1938 along the curve of the truck ramp below the Associated Press Building.<ref name="NYTimes-Film-House-Opens-19382">{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/12/02/98872206.pdf|title=Film House Opens Today; Fourth Unit in Newsreel Chain Is in Rockefeller Center|date=December 2, 1938|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 22, 2017}}</ref> After Nelson Rockefeller became president of Rockefeller Center in 1938,{{sfn|Jackson|2010|p=1115}}{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=56}} he fired John Todd as the complex's manager and appointed Hugh Robertson in his place.{{sfn|Balfour|1978|p=56}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=384}} The Rockefeller family started occupying the 56th floor of the RCA Building,<ref name="Roberts 2014" /> though the offices would later expand to the 54th and 55th floors as well.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=386}}
[[File:1230 Avenue of the Americas.jpg|thumb|1230 Avenue of the Americas (originally the U.S. Rubber Company Building) is the most recently built structure in the original complex.]]
A proposed 16-story building in the center of the southernmost block was leased to [[Eastern Air Lines]] in June 1940.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=97}}<ref>{{cite news | title=Air Lines Taking New Office Space; Rickenbacker Signs Rockefeller Lease During Flight |work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331| date=June 13, 1940 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1940/06/13/113092407.pdf | access-date=November 21, 2017}}</ref> Excavation started in October 1938, and the building was topped out by April 1939.<ref>{{cite news | title=New Rockefeller Unit Is 'Topped Out'; Realty Board Foresees Higher Tax Rate|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331| date=April 7, 1939 | url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1939/04/07/91561838.pdf | access-date=November 21, 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=12}} At the same time, Rockefeller Center Inc. wanted to develop the western half of the southern plot, which was partially occupied by the Center Theatre.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=98}}{{sfn|Adams|1985|p=231}} The [[United States Rubber Company]] agreed to occupy the plot,{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|pp=98–99}} and excavation of the U.S. Rubber Company Building site commenced in May 1939.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1939/05/03/113345926.pdf|title=Sixth Avenue Corner Site Is Being Cleared For the Final Unit in Rockefeller Center|date=May 3, 1939|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 22, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>  John Rockefeller installed the building's ceremonial final rivet on November 1, 1939, marking the completion of the original complex.<ref name="NYTimes-Complete-1939">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1939/11/02/94732871.html|title=Rockefeller Center is Completed as its Creator Pleads for Peace|date=November 2, 1939|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 14, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>{{sfn|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=12}}{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=393}} However, although the final rivet had been driven, the Eastern Air Lines Building was not completed until October 1940.{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=97}}<ref>{{cite news | title=Airline Building Is Dedicated Here; Governors of 17 States Take Part by Pressing Keys | date=October 16, 1940 |work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1940/10/16/102265018.pdf | access-date=November 21, 2017}}</ref>

The construction of the project employed between 40,000 and 60,000 people.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|pp=189–190}} The complex was the largest private building project ever undertaken in contemporary times.<ref name="roussel">{{harvnb|ps=.|Roussel|2006|page=11}}</ref> Architectural historian [[Carol Herselle Krinsky]] describes the center as "the only large private permanent construction project planned and executed between the start of the Depression and the end of the Second World War".{{sfn|Krinsky|1978|p=11}} According to writer [[Daniel Okrent]], Rockefeller Center was so extensive that it was said that "you could do anything you wanted except sleep (no hotels), pray (no churches), or not pay rent to [John Rockefeller Jr.]".{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=399}} By fall 1939, the complex had 26,000 tenants and 125,000 daily visitors. That year, 1.3 million people went on a guided tour of Rockefeller Center or visited the RCA Building's observation deck, while 6 million people visited the underground shopping mall, and 7 million saw a performance at Rockefeller Center.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=403}}