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You can’t visit New York without going up one at least of its skyscrapers, and to my mind this, the tallest of the Rockefeller Center’s many buildings, is the best of them. The Empire State Building may be higher, and perhaps more famous, but there are two disadvantages to ascending that rather than 30 Rockefeller Plaza (to give this its proper name). Firstly, when you’re on the Empire State Building you can’t see the Empire State Building! Secondly, the queues for that are notoriously long, even if you’ve booked in advance, whereas when we visited the Top of the Rock (admittedly arriving as it opened at 8.00 AM) we walked straight up to the counter to pay, and then into the first lift. This takes you to a mezzanine level with an exhibition about the history of the building. As part of this you’ll be invited to sit on a steel beam with a photo behind of the New York skyline. This is a bit of a “tourist trap” moment, as later you’ll be offered the opportunity to buy the photo, which now looks as if you recreated the famous image of builders perched on such a beam high above the city. But we gave that a miss, and headed straight into a second lift that whisked us up to the top. Talking of the lift, the ride up is part of the experience, with lights and images projected onto its ceiling. This is your first glimpse of the stylish makeover that the Top of the Rock has recently undergone. The upper floors reflect the same style, with ultra-modern features (including a fascinating light installation) that somehow complement very well the Art Deco style of the building itself. There are various ticket options here. We chose the Sunrise and Sunset ticket, which allows you to make two visits on the same or consecutive days. Why would you want to do that? Well, check out my day and night photos (the latter are in my Nightlife tip) and I think you’ll agree it is worth it! Our first visit, quite early on a sunny day, gave us pretty clear views of Manhattan, though inevitably there was some haze from pollution, and the low sun probably added to that, while also making the photos more atmospheric. On this first visit we stayed about an hour and a half, with the sun gradually getting warmer and the roof top busier, though never too crowded. Part of the lowest terrace was shut for a fashion shoot but as there are three altogether it didn’t inhibit our enjoyment (and in fact added to Chris’s, I rather suspect LOL). Of the three terraces, the 67th and 69th floors are partly indoor, but include outdoor terraces with transparent safety glass. The 70th floor, the uppermost level, provides a completely open air, unobstructed 360-degree view. Not the best place for those nervous of heights, and a bit windy, but great for photos. Later the same day (about 6.00 PM) we returned for our second visit, which I’ve described under Nightlife, as in my opinion it’s one of the best possible ways to appreciate this city after dark. Useful info: Top of the Rock is open from 8.00 AM to midnight, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The first lift is at 8.00 AM and the last at 11.00 PM (though times vary on holidays). There’s no time limit as to how long you can stay on the observation decks. It’s open year round, regardless of weather, though the open-air parts of the roof may be closed. There are no restaurant facilities at the top. This is a deliberate decision by the management intended to help keep the observation decks clean and litter free (you’re not allowed to bring your own food and drink either) but we would have welcomed a chance for a cup of coffee at least after our early start that morning. You can buy a leaflet for $2 which points out all the buildings and other sights you can see from the top – and some you can’t see, like London! Visiting in September 2008 we paid $30 each for our double visit ticket (a single visit would have cost $20). There are of course various concessions, and also a number of combination tickets (e.g. Top of the Rock and a Circle Line tour, or Top of the Rock and MOMA (the Museum of Modern Art). Phone: (212) 698-2000Directions: The main entrance is on 50th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The nearest subway stations is 47th-50th Sts, Rockefeller Center (lines B,D,F & V)Website: http://www.topoftherocknyc.com/
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by Yaqui Ok, I was so jazzed about being able to finally see the famed Rockefeller Plaza. Wow, it is beautiful and what a gem among the concrete jungle. I wished I had more time to take better pictures of it, but I was on a whirl-wind tour group headed by sister the little hurricane who lead the way.....lol! You can do a self tour and you can pick these pamplets up at the front desk in the GE Building. The security and information personel were so friendly and just awesome. Me and my sister had fun chatting up a storm with them! Tour Times: Rockefeller Center Tour Hours: Mon - Sat: 10:00am - 5:00pm (depart every 60 minutes) Sunday: 10:00am - 4:00pm (depart every 60 minutes) TOURS DEPART EVERY HOUR FROM THE NBC EXPERIENCE STORE inside the GE Building! RESERVATIONS ARE RECOMMENDED Call (212) 664-7174 The center began in 1926 and was one of the most significate undertaking to intregrate art, architecture, and landscaping in the middle of a urban city to serve the needs of busy office workers. The plaza is the very heart of the center. It is is converted into a ice skating rink during the winter months and it is where the annual Christmas tree lighting is a holiday attraction. Any other time it serves as a stunning outdoor restaurant with a full view of the Greek mythological statue "Prometheus - stealing fire from the gods as a gift to man", forged in bronze and covered in gold leaf. Leave a Comment Phone: 212-632-3975Directions: B,D,F,V Subways to 47-50th Sts, Rockefeller CenterNot sure on the busses right now. :(Website: www.rockefellercenter.com
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The Rockefeller Center is sometimes called a 'city within the city'. Its beautiful Art Deco Buildings are connected to each other via an underground concourse called the Catacombs - there are shops down there, but I didn't feel the pull to browse, as it is kind of dark and sterile down there, and there is much more happening above ground! There is a sunken plaza with cafes, plus a really pretty promenade with a fountain and, when we were there, loads of tulips. The Rockefeller Center is famous as the home of NBC Studios and also for the huge Christmas trees they have here each year. We really enjoyed sitting in the sun here and doing some people watching. Leave a Comment
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 One mural just behind the security and info desk! by Yaqui Formely the RCA building this beautiful structure provides space for several hundred tenants which include General Electric and NBC. As you enter the front of the building you will be greeted by some very impressive art deco that graces the entrances. Once inside the lobby you'll be once again impressed with a mural on the back wall of the security and information desk called, " American Progress", by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here you can get tour information of the Rockerfeller Center or NBC Studios too! Or if choose they have these really neat pamplets that assit you with taking a self tour of the surroundings. The gentlemen at the security desk were really cool. Oh there is a shopping mall downstairs to with shops and restaurants too!* Tour Times: Rockefeller Center Tour Hours: Mon - Sat: 10:00am - 5:00pm (depart every 60 minutes) Sunday: 10:00am - 4:00pm (depart every 60 minutes) TOURS DEPART EVERY HOUR FROM THE NBC EXPERIENCE STORE RESERVATIONS ARE RECOMMENDED Call (212) 664-7174 Leave a Comment Phone: 212-632-3975Directions: B,D,F,V Subways to 47-50th Sts. Just a couple of blocks from Times Square too! 47th-51st Streets and between 5th and 6th Avenues.Website: www.rockefellercenter.com
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 Me and the TREE! by sugarpuff As part of our "lets do everything in the evening as it will look more impressive" we also had to live up to the fact that it was going to be freezing! But we went well equipped with our long johns on...dont tell anyone...and enjoyed it all. The thing with this particular area in NY is that its virtually impossible to get lost, because everyone is going the same way..everyone wants to see the same things...so please dont get worried if you dont know which street you're on..just follow the person in front of you...of course, this doesnt apply if they look like a crazy axe murderer! We had walked down from 96th Street where we were staying to 72nd Street and then caught the subway to Times Square on 42nd Street. Just around the corner, literally, on 47th Street is the Rockefeller Centre. Now Im sorry if I describe everything I see as "it was just like it is in the movies!", but it really was!!!! Places like New York are the kind of places that you feel like you've been to before you actually have! And thats why it is fun...to see places in real life! There was the ice skating rink where you had to pay a whopping $10 or more I think to go on it, and even if you brought your own skates you still had to pay a lot..Im guessing the locals dont come here! And there was a HUGE Christmas Tree all decked out and looking so pretty. So I had my obligatory photo taken here and then we moved on to our next stop...Bryant park. I took photos of the ice rink on my non-digital camera so have yet to print those..so please come by another time and they'll be up! Leave a Comment Directions: B,D,F,V Subways to 47-50th Sts, Rockefeller Center. Not sure on the buses right now.
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Many people visit the Rockefeller Center in order to experience the view from the “Top of the Rock” (covered in a separate tip), but while this is stupendous, it’s by no means the only reason to come here. Indeed, the building you ascend for that view, known as the GE Building or 30 Rock (its postal address is no. 30 Rockefeller Plaza), is only one of several in the complex that is the Rockefeller Center. And many people come here not to go up, but down – beneath ground level are several floors of shops, ranging from smart clothes shops to newsstands, gift shops to book stores. There are also (apparently) over 40 places to eat in the complex, from Burger King and Starbucks to smart brasseries and the famous Rainbow Room. Another star attraction is the famous Radio City Music Hall, and a guided tour of the complex will take you inside this venerable institution. Having done a tour on our previous visit to New York however, we didn’t bother on this occasion, but if you haven’t been before I do recommend it. Instead, we enjoyed spending some time walking around the Rockefeller Plaza and the immediate surroundings, taking lots of photographs. If like me you’re a fan of the Art Deco style, you’ll love all the detailing on the buildings – ornamented doors, elaborate signs and numbers, and lots of art work from the period. The sculpture of Wisdom by Lee Lawrie, in photo 2, adorns the main entrance of no. 30 Rockefeller Plaza (the tall skyscraper at the heart of the complex), and the door in my 4th photo is of no. 620 Fifth Avenue, and depicts various trades and industries. At the heart of the complex is the sunken area which in winter is flooded and frozen to be used as a skating rink. For the rest of the year it’s a stylish outdoor café, still closed when we visited quite early on a Sunday morning. Dominating this space is a striking golden sculpture of the Greek Titan Prometheus, bringing fire to mankind, as seen in my main photo. The inscription on the wall behind the statue reads: "Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends." Between this area and Fifth Avenue is a small terraced garden, the Channel Gardens, which was bright with cheerful marigolds on our visit (photo 5). This is a lovely space in which to pause for a rest if you’re exploring Fifth Avenue and feel the need to sit for a while. This to me, as much as Times Square or Central Park, feels like the real heart of New York.
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 Atlas at the Rockefeller center by toonsarah While at the Rockefeller Center do take a minute to walk the short distance up Fifth Avenue to its northernmost edge, opposite St Patrick’s Cathedral, where you’ll find this striking sculpture of Atlas, the Greek Titan who was believed to carry the heavens upon his shoulders as a punishment for defying Zeus. I love this sculpture! It looks great from every angle and makes a wonderful subject for photographs. The sculptor of this piece was Lee Lawrie, who was responsible for eleven other pieces of art at the Rockefeller Center, including the friezes on no. 30 (see my tip on the Center for a photo of one of these, Wisdom). It was cast in 1936 as a companion piece to the gilded statue of Prometheus, another Titan, who watches over the Rockefeller Center’s ice-rink. Have a close look at the globe he supports across his shoulders – there is a lot of astronomical detail to be seen. The north-south axis points to the North Star as viewed from New York City and fixed to one of the sphere's rings are symbols for the twelve constellations of the Zodiac through which the Sun passes during the year. Laid across his shoulders too is a wide, curved beam with a frieze which depicts the traditional symbols for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Adjacent to Earth on this frieze (over his right forearm) is a small crescent symbolising the Moon. Directions: On the west side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets. The nearest subway stations is 47th-50th Sts, Rockefeller Center (lines B, D, F & V)
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by Yaqui This 310,000-square-foot facility exterior is grand limestone and bronze. It has some very wonderful murals, mosaics, and a courtyard sculpture. It is location among the Rockefeller Center. Some very famous pieces of art has passed these walls to sold and bought by wealthy collectors from all over the world. Christie is named after famed James Christie who began as auctioneer by conducting his first sale in 1766. This tradition has continue on and has sold such art as Pablo Picasso and Rembrandts portrait of a Lady. When to call: Hours: Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 5:30 pm Leave a Comment Phone: 212-636-2000Directions: 20 Rockefeller Plaza is located at 49th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. Subway: B, D, F, V Bus: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, Q32Website: http://www.christies.com/home_page/home_page.asp
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by Yaqui Another pretty cool place to see. So many times seeing this place on TV and to finally get to see it is pretty neat. Its located right among the Rockfeller Center, infact the NBC Studio store is inside the GE Building. Just ask the security information desk personel and they will point in the right direction. They have been giving tours of the studios since 1933. Just across the street is the Today show's "Window on the World studio, NBC Experience, which includes 2½ floors of exhibit and theater space. There is a 40-seat HDTV Theater that is on the last stop on the Studio Tour, features a 130º screen spanning two floors and three custom projectors showing a continuous presentation on NBC Leave a Comment Phone: (212) 664-3700Directions: B,D,F,V Subways to 47-50th Sts, Rockefeller CenterNot sure on the busses right now. 47th-51st Streets and between 5th and 6th Avenues.Website: http://www.nbc.com
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