Running Head: Rockefeller in the Center
Jacqueline Paglino
Rockefeller in the Center of New York
Molloy College
Rockefeller in the Center of New York
New York City has many areas that are iconic in their own right. What does anyone in the country or even the world think of when they think of Christmas time in New York; Rockefeller Center’s famous Christmas tree of course. People flock there from near and far every year to witness the amazing heights and lights that this enormous tree has to offer. Nothing is more iconic then walking around the public square in Rockefeller Center, watching people down below in the ice skating rink and simply becoming consumed in the “Christmas Spirit” that is evoked through every little detail. What people don’t realize when they stare up at the 70 story building in awe, is that it was never meant to be there in the first place.
In 1801 a man named David Hosack bought land for around 5,000 dollars from the city in hopes of creating a botanical garden. After a few years his greenhouse reached a tremendous sixty two feet long, yet Hosack never could settle. He continually put more and more money into his creation until his funds ran dry. In desperation he attempted to sell the land to the state, which failed. Eventually, years later, he was able to attain 75,000 dollars from lawmakers (much less then he himself invested in this plot of land), and since they didn’t have the love and attention to give to this plot, the land became ruined, overgrown, and un-kempt (Okrent, 2003).
Columbia College, looking to the state for money, instead received land (due to the state just loaning money out and having no more funds to spare). Columbia too weren’t able to up –keep this land and they eventually rented the land for next to nothing. Years passed before anything substantial was made of this unwanted plot of land, that is until 1928. Nicholas Murray Butler was the president of Columbia College and had heard that there were thoughts of the new Opera house to be built on his plot of land. Dollar signs flashing in Butler’s eyes, he immediately contacted his fiscal adviser Fredrick Goetze. Goetze was less than enthusiastic about the idea due to the failing Opera House that was currently standing. He couldn’t envision it being a sound investment to build another one (Okrent, 2003).
At the same time the current owner of the Opera House, Otto Kahn, was already in the mist of making plans for this new Opera House. The theory behind this new building was the public square, along with the skyscraper office buildings that would flank the central Opera House. Around the sides of the open public square would be hotels and businesses, all adding to the booming economic influx that was expected after building. Kahn, a smart businessman, brought together all of the wealthiest men in the area to discuss his plans, and sell them his idea. Kahn explained how due to the great view from the skyscrapers that they would be able to charge a substantial price for the use of the office buildings, which would in part pay for the up-keep of the Opera House. Kahn’s only conflict was coming up with the 2.5 million dollars needed to purchase this land from the current owners, Columbia College (Okrent, 2003).
Rockefeller was Kahn’s primary target for the man to help fund his plans, but Rockefeller very rarely attended meetings such as these and instead sent Ivy Lee, a scout to attend the meeting for him. What Rockefeller didn’t know was that Lee had been representing Kahn working together on speeches and other public relations since 1918. Kahn, knowing Lee worked closely with Rockefeller as well, came to her to discuss his newest plans, for what will years later become known as Rockefeller Center. The entire meeting was more of a ploy, acting as if there wasn’t already a clear plan of action in mind, which is to get Rockefeller on board. Lee took the plans to Rockefeller the next day, finally bringing to his attention his main job in the business partnership, which was to purchase the land from Columbia College (Okrent, 2003).
Rockefeller soon enough signed on to the project, but much to everyone’s shock on October 24th 1929 the stock market crashed right before the beginning of construction. This crash, leading to the Great Depression, caused the beginning of a downward spiral of banks and businesses failing and lastly trickling down to people filing for unemployment (Admin, 2009). The Opera House no longer had the funds to build, and Rockefeller was left with his large plot of land, and nothing to build on it. Rockefeller’s next decision is what impacted the life of New York until present times.
John D. Rockefeller as well as his son Nelson Rockefeller decided to build. This decision has granted New Yorker’s today with an iconic building reaching a true 70 stories high, complete with 14 smaller buildings surrounding the famous “30 Rock”. Amazingly some of the most memorable pieces of Rockefeller Center such as the skating rink were a mere after thought to try to increase revenues. Originally, nothing being in its place, people’s attention weren’t grabbed from the streets, and therefore the lower level shop’s business sales plummeted. The first solution was to replace the shops with restaurants, but the view was less then satisfying. Finally in 1936 a new invention of artificial ice allowed an outside skating rink to be possible. So alongside the already magnificent Christmas tree laid the equally thrilling ice skating rink which not only will be the attraction to bring tourists back to Rock Center for years to come, but they brought economic wealth to the building with them (Lowe, 1995).
Another way the Rockefeller Center has impacted New York City was the addition of Radio City Music Hall. Samuel Linel Rothafel known as Roxy was the director of the new music hall. Sadly after initially opening the hall, it was shown to be less then profitable, and even after a few tweaks the hall didn’t bring in enough revenue over the years and was going to be taken down. Thankfully the town didn’t let this happen calling for the interior of the hall to be named a landmark, and in 1999 the Music Hall was renovated. Nowadays people can see numerous shows year round, especially the Christmas Spectacular showcasing the Rockettes (Pressentin Wright, 2008).
In 2005 Rockefeller was able to re-open their famous “Top of the Rock” exhibit. This exhibit allows people to not only ride the elevator all the way up to the “Top” to experience the gorgeous views such as central park surrounding the building, but it now has many historical exhibits on the tour as well. The tour shows how this building finally came into existence, and the numerous men who were able to have jobs throughout the depression due to Rockefeller’s decision to begin building, despite the change of plans after the crash of the stock market (Pressentin Wright, 2008).
Rockefeller Center is one of the most well known places to see when visiting New York City. The beautiful building along with the restaurants, shops, attractions and festivities allow for it to have great tourist appeal. The history of this famous piece of land from being a garden, to being in ruins, and owned by numerous different people simply adds to the nostalgia of what is has become today. John D. Rockefeller didn’t know what he was getting himself into when he entered into a business partnership with Otto Kahn years ago. It was no easy feat to acquire this land, and by no means an easy decision by Rockefeller to continue building with a whole new focus in mind, all of which Rockefeller had to now fund himself. The end piece is a magnificent building, equip with Radio City Music Hall, Top of the Rock attractions, tons of shopping, restaurants, a one of a kind ice skating rink, and more history then most people know. Rockefeller Center is an area for people to visit and experience joy with family and friends for years to come.
Reference Page
Admin. (2009, Oct 09). The causes and effects of the 1929 us stock market crash. Retrieved from http://depositsbanking.com/the-causes-and-effects-of-the-1929-us-stock-market-crash
Lowe, D. G. (1995). The triumph of rockefeller center. City Journal, 5(3), Retrieved from http://www.city-journal.org/html/5_3_a2.html
Okrent, D. (2003). Great fortune the epic of rockefeller center. (pp. 1-70). New York, NY: Penguin Group(USA) Inc.
Pressentin Wright, C. (2008). Blue guide new york. (4 ed., pp. 243-253). Taunton, Somerset: Blue Guides Limited.
