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178-728: The Rainbow Room is a private event space on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan , New York City . Run by Tishman Speyer , it is among the highest venues in New York City. Opened in 1934, it was a focal point for the city's elite, as well as one of the United States' highest restaurants above ground. The Rainbow Room closed in 1942, due to World War II , and reopened in 1950. It received renovations in 1965 and 1985–1987, both of which sought to restore its original 1930s decor. Suffering from

356-619: A Gothic -inspired style. influenced the design of the rest of the complex. The first story is clad with Deer Island granite to a height of 4 ft (1.2 m). The remainder of the facade contains Indiana Limestone and aluminum spandrel panels. Some 212,000 cubic feet (6,000 m ) of limestone, 4,100 cubic feet (120 m ) of granite, and 6,000 spandrels were used in the construction. The limestone covered 600,000 square feet (56,000 m ). The limestone blocks are laid slightly irregularly and contain striations for visual effect. In addition, 10.38 million bricks were integrated into

534-448: A marquee and two works of art on its exterior. The recessed entrance portal is filled with a 79 by 14 ft (24.1 by 4.3 m) mosaic mural, Intelligence Awakening Mankind by Barry Faulkner . The portal is topped by four 11.5 by 4 ft (3.5 by 1.2 m) limestone panels by Gaston Lachaise , each of which signifies an aspect of civilization as it related to the original Radio City complex. The two panels on either side of

712-416: A mass media entertainment complex on the site. By May 1930, RCA and its affiliates had made an agreement with Rockefeller Center managers. RCA would lease 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m ) of studio space; get naming rights to the western part of the development; and develop four theaters, at a cost of $ 4.25 million per year. A skyscraper at 30 Rockefeller Plaza's current site was first proposed in

890-549: A shallot artichoke soup, or chicken backbones. According to Devra Ferst of Eater.com , the entrees included " scallops baked in the shell, lobster potpie with black truffles , short rib pot roast , beef wellington , roast duck , and baked Alaska ." Brunch is hosted a hybrid of waiter service and buffet -style servings. There are different buffet bars for "breakfast classics", fruit and vegetable juices, parfaits , and crepes . There are also some cocktails and desserts served during brunch. The Sunday brunches served at

1068-475: A "contemporary list" with items such as ginger beer . Ferst writes that according to an informal tallying of prices, the cheapest beverage on the menu cost $ 14. Historically, the Rainbow Room has had a reputation as an important place for famous high society people. In 1942, Dance Magazine wrote, "The Rainbow Room is unique in many ways. The highest 'high spot' in the world, it is also the super night club in

1246-608: A 10 ft (3.0 m) tall Comcast wordmark and NBC logo on the northern and southern elevations, as well as a 17 ft (5.2 m) NBC logo on the building's western elevation. In 1960, a 12-foot-wide (3.7 m), 400-pound (180 kg) weather radar dish for the National Weather Service was installed atop the roof when the building became the NWS's headquarters. KWO35 , the NOAA Weather Radio station serving

1424-601: A 300-guest party sponsored by the Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association. The opening celebrations were attended by a multitude of high-society individuals with "a dazzle of surnames that ran from Astors and Auchinclosses to Warburgs and Whitneys." The Rainbow Room was allowed to serve alcoholic drinks because the United States Constitution 's 21st Amendment had repealed the United States' prohibition on alcoholic beverages in 1933. Rockefeller

1602-585: A circular band", which was similar to the floor's original carpet design. During lunchtime, the dance floor would stop rotating and an extra 70 seats could be placed on the stationary dance floor. The Rainbow Room's rotating dance floor is said to draw its inspiration from the Round Room in the Carlu , a restaurant that Jacques Carlu designed in Toronto . Above the dance floor hang several concentric "rings" that recess into

1780-435: A correct description of the source of stratospheric ozone and its ability to generate heat within the stratosphere; he also wrote that ozone may be destroyed by reacting with atomic oxygen, making two molecules of molecular oxygen. We now know that there are additional ozone loss mechanisms and that these mechanisms are catalytic, meaning that a small amount of the catalyst can destroy a great number of ozone molecules. The first

1958-620: A decline in business following the financial crisis of 2007–08 , the Rainbow Room closed in 2009. In 2012, the Rainbow Room was declared a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission . The restaurant reopened in 2014, following a renovation, serving classic and contemporary American cuisine. In 2017, the American Institute of Architects gave the Rainbow Room an award for outstanding interior architecture. The restaurant closed in 2020 due to

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2136-415: A direct passageway to 30 Rockefeller Plaza's studios. Rockefeller Center acquired the building in the mid-20th century and ended the restaurant's lease in 1975, but the new lessees continued to run Hurley's until 1999. As of March 2022 , the holdout building contains Pebble Bar. The other tenant, who occupied a plot on Sixth Avenue and 50th Street at 30 Rockefeller Plaza's northwest corner, never received

2314-557: A frontage of 175.46 ft (53 m) on Sixth Avenue. The main entrance is on Rockefeller Plaza, a private pedestrian street running through the complex, parallel to Fifth and Sixth Avenues. In front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza's main entrance, below ground level, is the Lower Plaza. The building is assigned its own ZIP Code , 10112; it was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes as of 2019 . Across Sixth Avenue,

2492-478: A highly visible lobby mural, and Pablo Picasso had refused to even meet with Hood and Todd. Installation of the exterior stonework began in July 1932 and proceeded at a rate of 2,000 cubic feet (57 m ) per day. Window installation began the same month. The building's structural steel was up to the 64th floor by September 16, 1932. The photograph Lunch atop a Skyscraper was taken on September 20, 1932, during

2670-426: A major draw for the elite and the famous. In the decade following its opening, the Rainbow Room hosted former Spanish queen Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg ; Norwegian Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Martha ; and Swedish Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and Crown Princess Louise . The Rainbow Room became frequented by those who were both wealthy and worthy of society reporting . The author Daniel Okrent writes that

2848-424: A mythology and symbology professor who oversaw Rockefeller Center's art program, led the installation of artwork throughout the complex. The building's artwork was designed around the concept of "new frontiers", depicting modern society. The massing of 30 Rockefeller Plaza is designed in three parts. The easternmost section contains a 66-story tower with two stories of retail on the west and east. The tower

3026-432: A new executive chef and management team, after undergoing a full restoration. After being restored by Gabellini Sheppard Associates, the Rainbow Room reopened to the public on October 5, 2014, with Tishman Speyer as the new owner and operator. The renovation included the landmarked dance floor and a new cocktail lounge called Bar SixtyFive. The Rainbow Grill was not included in the reopened restaurant's floor plan; that space

3204-424: A one-time apprentice of Elsie de Wolfe , contributed to the design of the interior decor, such as the furniture, curtains, and elevator doors. Vincente Minnelli who would later become a film director, was assigned to help Schmidt select the colors of the walls. The walls were ultimately decorated in a plum purple pattern, as were the blinds and linens in the Rainbow Room. The restaurant's original architectural style

3382-461: A paneled bronze screen. The doors are topped by a cast-glass wall designed by Lee Lawrie, which measures 15 feet (4.6 m) high by 55 feet (17 m) wide. The wall is made of 240 glass blocks. Each glass block measures 3 inches (76 mm) deep and 19 by 29 inches (480 by 740 mm) across. Opposite the main entrance doors is an information desk made of Champlain gray marble. Four large ivory-marble piers with embedded light fixtures support

3560-484: A phenomenon called Rossby-wave pumping. An interesting feature of stratospheric circulation is the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) in the tropical latitudes, which is driven by gravity waves that are convectively generated in the troposphere . The QBO induces a secondary circulation that is important for the global stratospheric transport of tracers, such as ozone or water vapor . Another large-scale feature that significantly influences stratospheric circulation

3738-406: A private dining room. The western part houses Bar SixtyFive and an outdoor terrace. The dining room itself is a 4,464-square-foot (414.7 m ) space. The restaurant has a 32-foot-wide (9.8 m) rotating dance floor. The seats of the Rainbow Room are organized in tiers, and there is also a platform for bands and a shallow balcony for entertainers. There are stairs and a dumbwaiter behind

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3916-411: A revolving circle-shaped dance floor, which was inspired by the long-closed Murray's Roman Gardens on 42nd Street. The 32-foot-wide (9.8 m) floor can rotate in either direction and can make a full revolution every 3–5 minutes. In the 1987 renovation, the rotating floor was covered with a carpet design consisting of a "compass rose, sort of a star, surrounded by two sets of diamond patterns, each within

4094-516: A sale offer due to a misunderstanding. The grocer John F. Maxwell would only sell his property at 50th Street if he received $ 1 million. Because of a miscommunication, the Rockefeller family was told that Maxwell would never sell, and Maxwell himself said that he had never been approached by the Rockefellers. Consequently, Maxwell kept his property until his death in 1962, upon which Columbia bought

4272-564: A shrub-and-vegetable patch. The garden was staffed by hostesses who wore costumes, and the plantings lit up at night. Ralph Hancock and Raymond Hood designed the rooftop garden, one of several in the complex. Upon opening, the Garden of the Nations attracted many visitors because of its collection of exotic flora, and it became the most popular garden in Rockefeller Center. In its heyday,

4450-506: A two-story space for a dining room with a high ceiling. Frank W. Darling quit his job as head of Rye's Playland to direct the programming for the proposed amusement space. In July 1933, the managers opened an observation deck atop the RCA Building, which consisted of 190 by 21 ft (57.9 by 6.4 m) terraces on the 67th, 69th, and 70th floors. The 40-cents-per-head observation deck saw 1,300 daily visitors by late 1935. Meanwhile,

4628-429: A two-story space intended for a dining room with a high ceiling. The plans called for two restaurants on the 65th Floor. The Rainbow Grill, a small casual-style eatery, would occupy the western portion of the floor, while a larger restaurant for dancing and entertainment, comprising the future Rainbow Room, would be located in a larger space on the eastern part of the floor. There would also be private dining compartments on

4806-419: A year to maintain by 1942. The mechanical core also contains emergency-exit staircases, though there are fewer staircases on upper floors. For example, building plans indicate that the 12th story has three sets of emergency staircases, while the 60th story has two sets of staircases. The lobby's main entrance is from Rockefeller Plaza to the east, with revolving and double-leaf bronze-and-glass doors underneath

4984-422: Is Studio 6B, which hosted Texaco Star Theater , the first comedy-variety show on television to become popular. The Tonight Show was also broadcast from Studio 6B until 1972, returning there in 2014 under the name The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon . Tonight ' s companion program, Late Night (branded Late Night with Seth Meyers since 2014 ) is also taped in the building. The Today Show

5162-401: Is caused by variations in the jet stream and other local wind shears, although areas of significant convective activity ( thunderstorms ) in the troposphere below may produce turbulence as a result of convective overshoot . On October 24, 2014, Alan Eustace became the record holder for reaching the altitude record for a manned balloon at 135,890 ft (41,419 m). Eustace also broke

5340-521: Is due to the reaction of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) with ozone. •OH is formed by the reaction of electrically excited oxygen atoms produced by ozone photolysis, with water vapor. While the stratosphere is dry, additional water vapor is produced in situ by the photochemical oxidation of methane (CH 4 ). The HO 2 radical produced by the reaction of OH with O 3 is recycled to OH by reaction with oxygen atoms or ozone. In addition, solar proton events can significantly affect ozone levels via radiolysis with

5518-451: Is made of brass-and-terrazzo mosaic. The walls of these corridors are paneled in Champlain marble below the height of the storefronts and elevator doors. A bronze molding runs above the storefronts and elevators, while the walls are made of plaster above that height. The outer walls of the west–east corridors (adjacent to the mezzanines) contain bronze service doors, while the inner walls and

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5696-449: Is surrounded by a shorter U-shaped section to the north, west, and south. Some sources give 30 Rockefeller Plaza's height as 70 stories, but this arises from a hyperbolic press release by Merle Crowell, the complex's publicist during construction. At the middle of the site was a windowless nine-story section, which housed NBC's studios. The western part of the site steps up again to a 16-story tower. The western section at 1250 Avenue of

5874-577: Is the base of the lower stratosphere. This was based on temperature profiles from mostly unmanned and a few manned instrumented balloons. The mechanism describing the formation of the ozone layer was described by British mathematician and geophysicist Sydney Chapman in 1930, and is known as the Chapman cycle or ozone–oxygen cycle . Molecular oxygen absorbs high energy sunlight in the UV-C region, at wavelengths shorter than about 240 nm. Radicals produced from

6052-487: Is the breaking planetary waves resulting in intense quasi-horizontal mixing in the midlatitudes. This breaking is much more pronounced in the winter hemisphere where this region is called the surf zone. This breaking is caused due to a highly non-linear interaction between the vertically propagating planetary waves and the isolated high potential vorticity region known as the polar vortex . The resultant breaking causes large-scale mixing of air and other trace gases throughout

6230-478: Is the headquarters of NBC and houses NBC Studios , NBC News , MSNBC , and network flagship station WNBC . 30 Rockefeller Plaza also contains offices for NBCUniversal Cable and, until 1988, the NBC Radio Network . Part of NBC's space also extends into the central part of the building. The superstructure uses 58,500 short tons (52,200 long tons; 53,100 t) of steel. To transport visitors to

6408-649: The American Institute of Architects . The Rainbow Room closed temporarily in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City . It reopened in May 2021 with a special Mother's Day brunch. The Rainbow Room continues to host private events, but as of 2022 it no longer operates as a public restaurant. The Rainbow Room was originally designed by architect Wallace K. Harrison , of Rockefeller Center's Associated Architects , as well as interior designer Elena Bachman Schmidt . Harrison

6586-516: The COVID-19 pandemic and reopened for private events in 2021. During the 1920s, John D. Rockefeller Jr. had conceived the site of the current Rockefeller Center as a location for the Metropolitan Opera , but these plans were shelved and the plans eventually evolved into a mass media complex, leading to the construction of Rockefeller Center . The complex's flagship RCA Building (now 30 Rockefeller Plaza ) opened in May 1933. Shortly after

6764-512: The Metropolitan Opera . By 1928, Benjamin Wistar Morris and designer Joseph Urban were hired to come up with blueprints for the house. However, the new building was too expensive for the opera to fund by itself, and it needed an endowment . The project ultimately gained the support of John D. Rockefeller Jr. The planned opera house was canceled in December 1929 due to various issues, with

6942-579: The Rainbow Room restaurant and an observation deck called Top of the Rock. 30 Rockefeller Plaza also includes numerous artworks and formerly contained the mural Man at the Crossroads by Diego Rivera . The entire Rockefeller Center complex is a New York City designated landmark and a National Historic Landmark , and parts of 30 Rockefeller Plaza's interior are also New York City landmarks. 30 Rockefeller Plaza

7120-548: The Zagat Survey had rated the Rainbow Room as having the best decor in New York City. New York itself later described the Rainbow Room as "one place true New Yorkers expect never to visit. Except, of course, when you have to: For a show-off wedding, an out-of-towner dinner, or just to satisfy your curiosity about whether it lives up to the romantic lore." A 2005 review of the restaurant called it an "overrated bar" with "corporate phony" Art Deco decorations. In December 2014, after

7298-521: The new opera house eventually being built at Lincoln Center , opening in 1966. With the lease still in effect, Rockefeller had to quickly devise new plans so that the three-block Columbia site could become profitable. Raymond Hood , Rockefeller Center's lead architect, came up with the idea to negotiate with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and its subsidiaries, National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) , to build

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7476-401: The poles about 7 km (23,000 ft; 4.3 mi). Temperatures range from an average of −51 °C (−60 °F; 220 K) near the tropopause to an average of −15 °C (5.0 °F; 260 K) near the mesosphere. Stratospheric temperatures also vary within the stratosphere as the seasons change, reaching particularly low temperatures in the polar night (winter). Winds in

7654-510: The 1930s had restaurants or exclusive clubhouses on the top floors of their buildings. This stemmed from a tradition that started in the late 19th century, after the introduction of elevators. The specific idea for a restaurant atop the RCA Building may have been inspired by the Cloud Club , a lunch club in the Chrysler Building . On the 65th story of the RCA Building, the builders constructed

7832-472: The 20th century and was renamed for GE in 1988. Since the late 1990s, NBC has owned most of the lower floors, while Tishman Speyer has operated the rest of the building. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was extensively renovated in 2014 and was renamed for Comcast in 2015. 30 Rockefeller Plaza is part of the Rockefeller Center complex in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . It was intended as

8010-537: The 65th floor. The remaining 5,824 were casement windows measuring 4 by 6 feet (1.2 by 1.8 m). About 5,200 of these windows contained Venetian blinds, which were installed by the Mackin Venetian Blind Company. At street level, the stonework is relatively sparsely decorated. The main entrance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza was designed as a loggia of three arches: one at the center, measuring 37 feet (11 m) high by 14 feet (4.3 m) wide, and two on

8188-512: The 66-story, 850 ft (260 m) building was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood , Rockefeller Center's lead architect. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was known for its main tenant, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), from its opening in 1933 until 1988 and then for General Electric until 2015, when it was renamed for its current owner, Comcast . The building also houses the headquarters and New York studios of television network NBC ;

8366-419: The 69th-story terrace. As of 2024 , the 70th story includes a rotating "skylift" ride, as well as spherical rooftop beacon and floor tiles with a celestial pattern. The construction of Rockefeller Center occurred between 1932 and 1940 on land that John D. Rockefeller Jr. leased from Columbia University . The Rockefeller Center site was originally supposed to be occupied by a new opera house for

8544-556: The Americas, formerly also known as RCA Building West, is accessed mainly from Sixth Avenue. The facade of the annex rises straight from the sidewalk, with notches at the corners, because the corner lots were private properties at the time of the building's construction in 1935. The massing was influenced by the 1916 Zoning Resolution , which restricted the height that the street-side exterior walls of New York City buildings could rise before they needed to incorporate setbacks that recessed

8722-453: The Art Deco style. Developed as part of the construction of Rockefeller Center , 30 Rockefeller Plaza opened in 1933 as the RCA Building. 30 Rockefeller Plaza is 872 ft (266 m) tall and was built as a single structure occupying the entire block between Sixth Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza. As of December 2023 , the building is the 31st tallest in New York City and the 65th tallest in

8900-526: The Center charged admission fees for the Garden of the Nations. However, the nation-themed gardens were demolished by 1938, and the rock garden was left to dry up, supplanted by flower beds that were not open to the public. In 1936, the central roof temporarily housed a prototype of an apartment, which was used to advertise the Rockefeller Apartments between 54th and 55th Streets. From 1937 onward,

9078-531: The Grill closed its kitchen on June 21, 2009. In July 2011, it was announced that work had begun on remodeling the restaurant for its reopening. The Ciprianis, who were still in dispute with Tishman Speyer, asked the Landmarks Commission to designate the restaurant as a landmark. Building owners sometimes opposed interior landmark designation for their properties, since it would prevent them from making changes to

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9256-530: The Luncheon Club. Women were banned from the club. Jewish membership was limited to 3.5 percent of all members at any given time, ostensibly because that was the ratio of the American Jewish population to the entire American population at the time. However, Jews in New York City numbered 30 percent of the city's population, so this was considered an anti-Semitic measure for some time. In its early years,

9434-591: The March 1930 version of the complex's blueprint, and the current dimensions of the tower were finalized in March 1931. The skyscraper would be named for RCA as part of the agreement; the RCA name became official in May 1932. The designs for Radio City Music Hall and the RCA Building were submitted to the New York City Department of Buildings in August 1931, by which time both buildings were to open in 1932. Work on

9612-517: The Municipal Art Exhibition space shortly afterward after Nelson Rockefeller became a trustee of the museum. Subsequently, Edward Durell Stone removed the partitions on the second floor of the exhibition space, and the museum opened there in February 1936. The central wall of the main lobby remained empty until 1937, when Jose Maria Sert's American Progress was installed. At the time,

9790-450: The NBC lobby. The stair to the basement contains Champlain marble and ivory marble, while the stair to the mezzanine contains Champlain marble and bronze railings and moldings. Additional stairs to the basement and mezzanine are placed at the point where the corridors continue into 1250 Avenue of the Americas; they also contain Champlain marble and bronze railings and moldings. Josep Maria Sert

9968-474: The National Weather Service. The mezzanine level also contained a control room, from which all of Rockefeller Center's mechanical systems could be monitored. When the building was constructed, RCA's chief engineer O. B. Hanson was faced with designing an area of the building that was large enough to host 35 studios with as few structural columns as possible. As such, the studios were all placed in

10146-435: The RCA Building was 84 percent leased. By 1938, the NBC studios at the RCA Building received 700,000 annual visitors, while the observation deck had 430,000 annual visitors. Two 24- ton cooling machines were installed in the basement of the RCA Building in 1940. The air-conditioning units supplemented the RCA Building's existing units and also served 1230 Sixth Avenue, 10 Rockefeller Plaza, and 1 Rockefeller Plaza. The lobby

10324-413: The RCA Building's 67th, 69th, and 70th floors, above the future Rainbow Room, in July 1933. The only entrance to the observatory cut across the 65th floor, where the Rainbow Room would soon be located. The Rainbow Room was used as enticement for visitors to the observation deck, who were told that "if you behave and do your jobs right [...] when you die you'll go way up to the Rainbow Room." The director of

10502-655: The RCA Building's early years, NBC housed both the Red Network and the Blue Network (now ABC ) there, and WJZ-TV (now WABC-TV ) and WJZ Radio (now WABC ), as well as the headquarters of the ABC network, were also headquartered there for the first few years until ABC built their own facilities. When the building opened, it also hosted daily tours of the NBC Studios; the tours were canceled in 1977 due to declining attendance. NBC

10680-438: The RCA Building's opening, there were plans to use the space above the 64th floor as a public "amusement center". That section of the building had several terraces, which could be used to construct a dance floor, observatory, restaurant, and landscaped terrace gardens. Frank W. Darling quit his job as head of Rye's Playland in order to direct the programming for the proposed amusement space. Many of New York City's buildings in

10858-539: The RCA Building, which was 90 percent complete; the upper floors were mostly finished, but the base was still incomplete. As late as April 24, more than 1,000 workers were still fitting out the RCA Building. As a result of the Depression, building costs were cheaper than projected. The final cost of the first ten buildings, including the RCA Building, came to $ 102 million (equivalent to $ 1.8 billion in 2023 dollars ). Todd, Robertson, Todd Engineering Corporation, which

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11036-403: The RCA Building. They moved at an average speed of 1,200 feet per minute (370 m/min) and made up 13% of the building's entire construction cost. One elevator reached a top speed of 1,400 feet per minute (430 m/min) and was dubbed "the fastest passenger elevator ride on record". These elevators cost about $ 17,000 a year to maintain by 1942. Rockefeller Center opened an observation deck atop

11214-469: The Rainbow Grill had to close temporarily due to a rising lease but reopened the following month when new management took over the operation. The Rainbow Grill was also briefly closed for renovations in 1979 which included installation of a new stage. In 1985, the Rockefeller family bought the entire Rockefeller Center complex from Columbia University and immediately set out to modernize many aspects of

11392-460: The Rainbow Room change every season. In 2014, the New York Post's Steve Cuozzo wrote that the "well-turned out breakfast favorites" included "marvelously runny scrambled eggs , honey-baked ham , smoked salmon , sweet-spicy chicken sausage ", and French toast . SixtyFive's menu consists of two types of beverages. There is a "classic list" featuring such drinks as a 1915 gin and tonic , and

11570-425: The Rainbow Room had a difficult time attracting just the right types of customers. Fortune magazine described the Rainbow Room's intended audience as "the nonflashy strata of the upper crust" who avoided such nightclubs as Stork Club or El Morocco . The restaurant attempted to draw the rich and famous by hiring unorthodox entertainers, including monologists and impressionists. There were many high expectations for

11748-485: The Rainbow Room's workers' union . Robertson threatened to shutter the restaurant and blame it on war-related reasons if they kept demanding wage increases. The Rainbow Room was closed at the end of December 1942 due to World War II , which contributed to the "increasing shortage of manpower" in American civilian life, according to Robertson. The Rockefeller Center Luncheon Club remained open through this time. The Rainbow Room

11926-412: The Rainbow Room's owner in name only. This was because each nightclub owner had to be fingerprinted in order to comply with the state law at the time, and the true owner of Rainbow Room did not want his fingerprints on record. Because Christy had verified himself to the state as the owner of Rainbow Room, it was legal for the restaurant to operate. The Rainbow Room opened to the public on October 3, 1934, at

12104-405: The Rainbow Room, which was among the first restaurants with air conditioning , as well as one of the first clubs to open after the 21st Amendment's ratification. The restaurant had a net loss in 1936, but Rockefeller Center Inc. used the publicity from Rainbow Room to advertise the western half of Rockefeller Center. By the end of the decade, the Rainbow Room and Grill were described as being "two of

12282-430: The Rock is accessed from its own entrance on 50th Street, where two elevators (converted from freight elevator shafts) ascend to the 67th floor. The shafts are illuminated, while the elevator cabs contain ceiling panels with historical photographs. There is a double-height indoor observatory on the 67th floor, where escalators lead to the 69th floor. A 8.5-foot-tall (2.6 m) parapet of frameless safety glass runs around

12460-546: The Rock, the 70th-story observation deck atop the skyscraper, opened in 1933 and is 850 feet (260 m) above street level. In addition to the deck, the attraction includes a triple-story observatory on the 67th to 69th floors. Top of the Rock competes with the 86th-floor observation deck of the Empire State Building 200 feet (61 m) higher, as well as a distant view of the Empire State Building. Top of

12638-508: The Rock, when it reopened after a renovation by Gabellini Sheppard Associates . The original limestone and cast aluminum architectural details were conserved. In 2011, the observation deck had 2.5 million visitors a year and grossed $ 25 million. On the 69th story is the Beam, a ride themed to the photograph Lunch Atop a Skyscraper . The ride faces Billionaires' Row to the north; it can fit seven riders, and it rotates 12 feet (3.7 m) above

12816-565: The Rockefeller family passed operations of the Rainbow Room and Grill over to the Italian Cipriani S.A. family, founders of the renowned Harry's Bar in Venice , as well as several other restaurants in New York City. The Ciprianis extensively removed the Rainbow Room's northeast and southeast seating terraces, replaced fabric decorations, and added wall mirrors. They also closed the restaurant to

12994-440: The Rockefeller family's Standard Oil Company moved into the RCA Building in 1934. NBC was one of the first tenants in the new RCA Building and, with 35 studios packed into the base, it was also one of the largest tenants. Westinghouse moved into the 14th through 17th floors of the RCA Building, receiving the contract for the building's elevators as a result. American Cyanamid took four floors and part of another. Other space

13172-494: The Rockefellers' offices resembled an "18th-century English baronial mansion". The space was decorated with art by Paul Gauguin , Piet Mondrian , Paul Signac , and Joan Miró . By 1937, there were 392 employees of Room 5600. After World War II, Room 5600 comprised the entire 54th through 56th floors. The family offices became a hub for the family's political activity, with ties to both the Democratic and Republican parties at

13350-503: The Stratosphere Room became the "Rainbow Room", which drew its name from a model of organ that changed colors based on the tone of the music. The indirect lighting of the Rainbow Room did just that. The lights originally accompanied the sounds of a Wurlitzer organ, but the organ was assailed for its "funereal" quality, and it was seldom used from 1935 to its removal in 1986. Rockefeller Center Inc. hired lawyer Francis Christy to be

13528-450: The United States . The design was influenced by Rockefeller Center manager John Todd's desire for the building to use its air rights to their maximum potential. 30 Rockefeller Plaza rises to a flat roof, unlike some of the other skyscrapers built in New York City around the same time. These included the Chrysler Building , 70 Pine Street , and 40 Wall Street , which used spires to reach their maximum heights. Hartley Burr Alexander ,

13706-403: The United States for decades, though it was closed during much of the 1940s. The most recent version of the restaurant opened in 2014 after a restoration by Gabellini Sheppard Associates. The Rainbow Room occupies the eastern part of 30 Rockefeller Plaza's 65th floor, which covers 13,500 square feet (1,250 m ). The central part of the floor has elevator banks, restrooms, a gallery , and

13884-402: The altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds. Upper-atmospheric lightning is believed to be electrically induced forms of luminous plasma . Lightning extending above the troposphere into the stratosphere is referred to as blue jet , and that reaching into the mesosphere as red sprite . Bacterial life survives in the stratosphere, making it a part of the biosphere . In 2001, dust

14062-533: The brunch menu "worth $ 95 a head, not including liquor". Zagat Guides gave the new Rainbow Room an average of 4.5 of 5 stars in its "Food", "Decor", and "Service" categories. 30 Rockefeller Plaza 30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially the Comcast Building ; formerly RCA Building and GE Building ) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City , United States. Completed in 1933,

14240-535: The building faces 1221 Avenue of the Americas to the southwest, 1251 Avenue of the Americas to the west, and 1271 Avenue of the Americas to the northwest. Radio City Music Hall , 1270 Avenue of the Americas , and 50 Rockefeller Plaza are directly to the north. Across Rockefeller Plaza are the International Building to the northeast, La Maison Francaise and the British Empire Building to

14418-537: The building; Rockefeller Center purchased the Maxwell family's lease in 1970. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was designed by the Associated Architects of Rockefeller Center, composed of the firms of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray ; Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux ; and Reinhard & Hofmeister . Raymond Hood was the complex's lead architect. The Associated Architects designed all of Rockefeller Center's buildings in

14596-476: The buildings' exterior walls away from the streets. The base of the building could only rise to 120 feet (37 m) before it had to taper to a tower covering 25 percent of the site. The eastern tower appeared to violate this principle since it measured 103 by 327 feet (31 by 100 m), but the base measured only 200 by 535 feet (61 by 163 m). The base does not occupy its entire plot, which measures 200 by 670 feet (61 by 204 m). The tower section

14774-445: The ceiling from outside to inside, with the largest ring measuring 47 feet (14 m) across and the smallest, most recessed circle located in the center of the other rings. There is a chandelier hanging from a brass pole in the middle of the central circle. This is the largest of the three chandeliers in the Rainbow Room, although a fourth chandelier formerly hung above the east alcove. Both indirect lighting and crystal light fixtures on

14952-435: The ceiling immediately above. The lobby continues north and south from the information desk. Stairways at either end lead up to the mezzanine, while stairs and escalators lead downstairs to the basement. Extending west from either end are two corridors, which flank five north–south elevator banks. The elevator doors are made of bronze, and there are bronze and glass storefronts on the outer walls of these corridors. The floor

15130-422: The central structure of Rockefeller Center, both physically and symbolically. The land lot is nearly rectangular and covers 107,766 sq ft (10,011.8 m ), bounded by Sixth Avenue (officially Avenue of the Americas ) to the west, 50th Street to the north, Rockefeller Plaza to the east, and 49th Street to the south. The site has a frontage of 545 ft (166 m) on 49th and 50th Streets and

15308-425: The city, state, and national levels. Visitors to Room 5600 have included Frank Sinatra , Shirley MacLaine , Nelson Mandela , Richard Gere , and Bono . Even in the late 1980s, when Room 5600 had downsized to 175 people, it still managed $ 900 million of Rockefeller family wealth. The family moved out during 2014. The 65th floor of the building is an event room and restaurant named the Rainbow Room . The space

15486-485: The cold European winters of the 1960s. Stratospheric warming of the polar vortex results in its weakening. When the vortex is strong, it keeps the cold, high-pressure air masses contained in the Arctic ; when the vortex weakens, air masses move equatorward, and results in rapid changes of weather in the mid latitudes. Upper-atmospheric lightning is a family of short-lived electrical-breakdown phenomena that occur well above

15664-520: The commission for bas-reliefs on the Sixth Avenue entrance in September 1932. The same month, Hood and the complex's manager John Todd traveled to Europe to interview five artists for the lobby. Frank Brangwyn, Josep Maria Sert, and Diego Rivera were hired the following month, despite John Rockefeller Jr.'s hesitance to hire Rivera, a prominent communist. Henri Matisse had been reluctant to commission

15842-539: The commission's guideline was that the proposed landmark "must be at least 30 years old". In 2003, Michael DiLeonardo testified in a tax-evasion case involving mobster Peter Gotti , in which he said that Ciprianis gave $ 120,000 to the Gambino crime family to make union problems at the Rainbow Room disappear. The charges were never confirmed. A year later, the Ciprianis sued 30 Rockefeller Plaza's landlord, Tishman Speyer , for

16020-444: The complex. As one of these components, the Rainbow Room was closed for a $ 20 million restoration and expansion that brought the restaurant's floor area to 4,500 square feet (420 m). John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s son David Rockefeller commissioned the restoration, which was led by Joe Baum , Arthur Emil, and Hugh Hardy . At the time, Baum and Michael Whiteman were the restaurant's operators. The Rainbow Room's expansion went through

16198-477: The construction of the 69th floor; it was part of a publicity stunt promoting the RCA Building. The building was topped out on September 26, 1932, when an American flag was hoisted to the top of the primary 66-story tower on Rockefeller Plaza. The Indiana limestone cladding had been erected to the 15th floor on the Rockefeller Plaza wing, and the facade of the Sixth Avenue wing had been completed. The stone

16376-466: The current economic crisis in New York and around the world, on top of an ongoing dispute with our landlord". Tishman Speyer said it intended to evict the Ciprianis unless they paid back rent. The two sides settled the dispute, with the Ciprianis agreeing to give up possession of the restaurant and banquet hall on August 1, 2009. The last night of dancing at the former hot spot took place on June 5, 2009, and

16554-414: The diners at the Rainbow Room were representative of the uncommon, separated from "the masses" by "a price structure that required a trust fund and a dress code that required white tie." Formal dress was required except on Sundays, each meal cost $ 3.50 (equivalent to $ 80 in 2023), and the restaurant even had an exclusive bank of elevators from the lobby. Dinners stretched from 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

16732-419: The east, a windowless section at the center, and a 16-story annex to the west. The building's design conforms with the 1916 Zoning Resolution ; it is shaped mostly as a slab with setbacks primarily for aesthetic value. The facade is made of limestone , with granite at the base, as well as about 6,000 windows separated by aluminum spandrels . In addition to its offices and studios, 30 Rockefeller Plaza contains

16910-419: The east, and 1 Rockefeller Plaza and 608 Fifth Avenue to the southeast. In addition, 10 Rockefeller Plaza is to the south. The site was previously part of the campus of Columbia University , which retained ownership of most of the land well after the complex was built. The northwest and southwest corners of 30 Rockefeller Plaza were built around two holdout structures on Sixth Avenue. The owners of

17088-502: The eclectic mixture of patrons. The restaurant itself was described as having a "curious surprise" in the form of "a feeling of intimacy, for all the expected splendor, partly because of the encircling sweep of Manhattan lights through the tall windows 65 stories above the street." A 1988 edition of Restaurant Business stated that "the Rainbow Room immediately became the dining/dancing mecca of sophisticated New Yorkers" immediately after it opened. In 1989, New York magazine mentioned that

17266-399: The elevator-bank walls contain murals. The ceilings of the corridors are carried by rows of piers. West of the elevator banks, two north–south corridors extend to side entrances on 49th and 50th Streets, which each contain two bronze sets of revolving doors. The corridors continue west to the Sixth Avenue entrance. Just west of the elevators, a staircase leads down to the basement and up to

17444-514: The elevators only ran to the 55th floor. It had taken only 102 workdays to install the 212,000 cubic feet (6,000 m ) of stonework. Rockefeller Plaza was added to the city's official street map in January 1933, and the RCA Building gained the address 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The next month, John D. Rockefeller III honored 27 mechanics for their work on the RCA Building. At the time, The New York Times reported that 1,600 workers were busy completing

17622-517: The entrance are entitled The Conquest of Space and Gifts of Earth to Mankind ; these respectively depict aspiration and life, two qualities that Lachaise believed were most important to humanity. The two panels in the center are known as Genius Seizing the Light of the Sun (also known as Invention Seizing the Light of the Sun ) and The Spirit of Progress . The panels are placed at the third story because, at

17800-506: The facade. 30 Rockefeller Plaza also had 6,045 windows upon its completion, with 19,700 panes between them, covering 168,340 square feet (15,639 m ) in total. Thirty-six of the windows measured 9 by 16 feet (2.7 by 4.9 m) and were storefront windows. Those on the mezzanine level were composed of 9-by-12-foot (2.7 by 3.7 m) panels flanked by smaller sidelights. Another 165 were casement windows , which had panes measuring 6 by 18 inches (150 by 460 mm); most of these were above

17978-576: The fact that the themes were stenciled onto the murals. By contrast, Stern said: "Sert at least allowed the meaning of his paintings to fall into happy obscurity." After the building had opened, Sert was commissioned to paint the mural American Progress at the center of the lobby, measuring 50 by 17 feet (15.2 by 5.2 m). The mural was installed in 1937. It depicts a vast allegorical scene of men constructing modern America and contains figures of Abraham Lincoln , Mahatma Gandhi , and Ralph Waldo Emerson . The space occupied by American Progress

18156-411: The floor below. The Rockefeller Center Luncheon Club, composed mostly of Rockefeller Center tenants, would eat lunch at the Rainbow Room from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. More established restaurateurs believed that the juxtaposition of the two eateries was an unwise business decision, but Rockefeller ignored them. To transport visitors to the top floors, Westinghouse installed eight express elevators in

18334-425: The floor features elevator banks, restrooms, a gallery , and a private dining room. The western part houses Bar SixtyFive and an outdoor terrace. The restaurant proper occupies a 4,464-square-foot (414.7 m) space: its eastern and western walls are 62 feet (19 m) long, while its northern and southern walls are 72 feet (22 m) long. Entrance to the Rainbow Room is from the west, and two small staircases from

18512-435: The floors below the observation deck were planned as a restaurant, solarium, game room, and ballroom, which would later become the Rainbow Room . The Rainbow Room opened on October 3, 1934. A revolving beacon was installed atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 1935, the first such beacon to be installed in Manhattan. That September, the ground-floor retail space was fully leased. The New York Museum of Science and Industry leased

18690-425: The garden included thirteen nation-specific gardens, whose layouts were inspired by gardens in the respective countries they represented. Each of the different gardens were separated by barriers. The "International Garden", a rock garden in the center of the themed gardens, featured a meandering stream and 2,000 plant varieties. The Garden of the Nations also contained a children's garden, a modern-style garden, and

18868-407: The general public for most of the time, with the public only being allowed for four to five days each month. All 250 employees at the time were fired. The same year, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission considered granting landmark status to the Rainbow Room. The Landmarks Commission ultimately decided against landmark status because the restaurant had been renovated 11 years prior, and

19046-400: The headquarters is sometimes called 30 Rock , a nickname that inspired the NBC sitcom of the same name . The tallest structure in Rockefeller Center, the building is the 28th tallest in New York City and the 65th tallest in the United States , and was the third tallest building in the world when it opened. 30 Rockefeller Plaza's massing consists of three parts: the main 66-story tower to

19224-465: The homolytically split oxygen molecules combine with molecular oxygen to form ozone. Ozone in turn is photolysed much more rapidly than molecular oxygen as it has a stronger absorption that occurs at longer wavelengths, where the solar emission is more intense. Ozone (O 3 ) photolysis produces O and O 2 . The oxygen atom product combines with atmospheric molecular oxygen to reform O 3 , releasing heat. The rapid photolysis and reformation of ozone heat

19402-412: The interior work. According to the main contractors, the laborers, plasterers, and metal lathers involved in the project would need to be compensated the equivalent of 25,000 eight-hour workdays. The building would require 26,900 short tons (24,000 long tons; 24,400 t) of plasterwork, covering about 650,000 square yards (540,000 m ). By April 6, 1933, there were 1,400 mechanics working to complete

19580-403: The large number of tenants, Rockefeller Center was only 59 percent rented by the end of 1933. Shortly after the RCA Building's opening, there were plans to use the building above the 64th floor as a public "amusement center". That section of the building had several terraces, which could be used as a dance floor, observation deck and landscaped terrace gardens. On the 65th floor, there was also

19758-466: The latter's plan to place metal detectors at the lobby entrance to the Rainbow Room's elevator bank. Tishman Speyer cited security measures implemented after the September 11, 2001, attacks as the reason for installing metal detectors, but the Ciprianis said that the detectors would "damage the reputation and business of the Rainbow Room" by causing potential guests to wait for up to an hour before entering

19936-562: The lift by the lift-to-drag ratio .) It also allows the airplane to stay above the turbulent weather of the troposphere. The Concorde aircraft cruised at Mach 2 at about 60,000 ft (18 km), and the SR-71 cruised at Mach 3 at 85,000 ft (26 km), all within the stratosphere. Because the temperature in the tropopause and lower stratosphere is largely constant with increasing altitude, very little convection and its resultant turbulence occurs there. Most turbulence at this altitude

20114-487: The lobby is the complex's shopping concourse, connected to the lobby via escalators. The building has a direct entrance to the New York City Subway 's 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center station via the concourse. Until 1950, the building's concourse had also contained Rockefeller Center's post office. The mezzanine contains balconies overlooking the lobby. The floors of the mezzanine are black terrazzo, while

20292-417: The lots at 1242–1248 Sixth Avenue and 73 West 49th Street, part of RCA Building West; these lots had previously been held under a long-term lease. By the next year, the RCA Building was almost fully rented. Stratosphere Near the equator , the lower edge of the stratosphere is as high as 20 km (66,000 ft; 12 mi), at mid-latitudes around 10 km (33,000 ft; 6.2 mi), and at

20470-406: The lower reaches of the stratosphere in temperate latitudes. This optimizes fuel efficiency , mostly due to the low temperatures encountered near the tropopause and low air density, reducing parasitic drag on the airframe . Stated another way, it allows the airliner to fly faster while maintaining lift equal to the weight of the plane. (The fuel consumption depends on the drag, which is related to

20648-593: The majority of the Tri-State area , transmitted from atop the building and remained there until 2014. Due to interference with a U.S. Coast Guard radio channel, the transmitter was eventually relocated atop the MetLife Building . The weather radar station was used as Doppler 4000 during WNBC-TV 's local newscasts. It was operational until February 1, 2017, when StormTracker 4, an S-band weather radar at Rutgers University's Cook Campus , started operating. Top of

20826-463: The menu of that time was very similar to the original menu, since "very little has changed over the years except the prices". Smoked salmon , oysters/clams , onion soup gratinee, bay scallops saute, coffee , and sherbet were among the foods from the original menu that appeared in the 1984 menu. Since the 2014 reopening, the dinner menu has consisted of a variety of appetizers, entrees, and desserts. The Rainbow Room's appetizers included salads ,

21004-492: The midlatitude surf zone. The timescale of this rapid mixing is much smaller than the much slower timescales of upwelling in the tropics and downwelling in the extratropics. During northern hemispheric winters, sudden stratospheric warmings , caused by the absorption of Rossby waves in the stratosphere, can be observed in approximately half of winters when easterly winds develop in the stratosphere. These events often precede unusual winter weather and may even be responsible for

21182-412: The most successful clubs in the country". In summer 1941, the Rainbow Room recorded its largest-ever profits. The New York Sun described a typical Saturday as "almost like New Year's Eve": the Rainbow Room served 575 diners a night despite only having 350 seats, and the Rainbow Grill served another 312 diners per night. By 1941, Rockefeller Center Inc's manager Hugh S. Robertson was in a dispute with

21360-471: The mural, which was covered in stretched canvas and left incomplete. Brangwyn's murals were also incomplete at the time of the building's opening. Rivera's mural remained covered until February 1934, when workmen peeled the mural off the wall. Columbia University originally owned most of Rockefeller Center's land as well as the complex's buildings, including the RCA Building. However, Columbia received no rental income; Rockefeller Center's managers collected

21538-490: The next day. In contrast, the Rainbow Grill across the hall had a "black tie" dress code with "white linen acceptable in the summer." The Rainbow Grill, which opened in 1935, was a somewhat less expensive restaurant with an à la carte menu and its own celebrations on major holidays. The Luncheon Club was even more exclusive than the Rainbow Room, with 600 members and a board of nine governors. A prospective member had to be known to at least two governors to even be considered for

21716-449: The north, south, and east elevations. Hood also created a guideline that all of the office space in the complex would be no more than 27 ft (8.2 m) from a window, which was the maximum distance that sunlight could permeate the windows of a building at New York City's latitude. The setbacks on the northern and southern sides of 30 Rockefeller Plaza allow the building to comply with Hood's guideline. The setbacks correspond to

21894-467: The only passageway that led to the RCA Building's observation deck, so the deck was subsequently closed. The Rainbow Room reopened in December 1987 with cuisine, cutlery, and decorations designed to evoke the restaurant as it had been in the 1930s. The restaurant's 300 lights were synchronized with a new sound system and a new entrance was added at the southwest corner. The artist Dan Dailey created "Orbit", an 8-by-15-foot (2.4 by 4.6 m) glass mural, for

22072-438: The ozone layer allows life to exist on the surface of the planet outside of the ocean. All air entering the stratosphere must pass through the tropopause , the temperature minimum that divides the troposphere and stratosphere. The rising air is literally freeze dried; the stratosphere is a very dry place. The top of the stratosphere is called the stratopause , above which the temperature decreases with height. Sydney Chapman gave

22250-399: The parcel on Sixth Avenue and 49th Street, at the southwest corner of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, had demanded an exorbitant price for their property upon learning of the planned skyscraper. The holdout building had contained Hurley's restaurant, which had opened around the 1890s and subsequently became a popular meeting place for NBC performers and executives. The restaurant was later connected by

22428-410: The perimeter of the deck; it dates to the 2005 renovation. The deck originally had dimensions of 190 by 21 feet (57.9 by 6.4 m) and was decorated in the style of an ocean liner, with furnishings such as slatted chairs. The observation deck was closed in 1986 because a renovation of the Rainbow Room had cut off the deck's only access point. The observation deck has been known since 2005 as Top of

22606-409: The platform's floodlights. Private events are also hosted in several banquet rooms on the 64th floor. The double-height restaurant contains twenty-four 24-foot-high (7.3 m) windows, which surround the space so as to give it a "vista"-like quality. Each window contains a blind that can be adjusted vertically, and there are radiators at the foot of many of these windows. The restaurant is notable for

22784-625: The platform, as well as several banquet rooms on the 64th floor. Above the dance floor hang several concentric "rings" that recess into the ceiling. The roof of the building's central section contained a 0.75-acre (0.30 ha) "Garden of the Nations" (alternatively "Gardens of the Nations" ), which opened in April 1935 on the 11th floor. The garden used 3,000 short tons (2,700 long tons) of soil; 100 short tons (89 long tons) of rock from as far as England; 100,000 bricks; 2,000 trees and shrubs; 4,000 small plants; and 20,000 bulbs for flowers. Originally,

22962-416: The proposed restaurant did not want to "sound like an ordinary Eighth Avenue food joint", and he wanted to avoid using the word "restaurant" itself. For him, the optimal name would reflect the RCA Building's height and the eatery's exclusivity. At first, the restaurant was to be known as the "Stratosphere Room", whose name evoked the stratosphere , the second layer of atmosphere above the earth. In August 1934,

23140-670: The rent and owned the land under the western part of the complex, including a section of the RCA Building West. The RCA offices moved to the RCA Building's 52nd and 53rd floors in June 1933. The Rockefeller family took up space throughout the building to give potential tenants the impression of occupancy. Their Rockefeller Foundation , as well as the General Education Board and the Spelman Fund of New York, had leased space, and

23318-527: The restaurant hosted the 20th Tony Awards , which was the first Tony Awards ceremony held in the afternoon. In commemoration to the actress Helen Menken , who had died three months prior, the ceremony was closed to the public. Entertainers began performing in the Rainbow Room again in 1973, for the first time in decades, starting on September 18 of that year when classical-piano duo Whittemore and Lowe played three 40-minute-long sets , with half of each set dedicated to song requests from guests. In January 1975,

23496-476: The restaurant's reopening, Zachary Feldman of The Village Voice described the space before 2009 as a "drab husk of its former self" and praised the New American supper cuisine with live acts as evidence that "the Rainbow Room has bounced back better than ever". Writing in 2016, Claire Stern of InStyle lauded the brunch menu as being "as delicious as it is playfully presented". The Post ' s Cuozzo called

23674-473: The restaurant. In 2008, the Cipriani company filed a brief, again requesting that the Rainbow Room be designated a New York City landmark. The designation would prevent the Rainbow Room from being converted into office space. The Ciprianis then announced that they planned to close the grill on January 12, 2009, although part would remain open as a bar and banquet hall. The Ciprianis' chief operating officer blamed "

23852-431: The roof of the eastern tower contained neon letters spelling "RCA". The letters each measured 22 feet (6.7 m) wide by 24 feet (7.3 m) tall; at the time of the building's completion, the letters were the world's highest neon signs. These were replaced by "GE" letters in 1988. The letters were replaced again with the new united Comcast/NBC logo, rendered in longer-lasting LED lighting . The new signs consist of

24030-486: The sides, measuring 27 feet (8.2 m) high by 13 feet (4.0 m) wide. Lee Lawrie designed the sculptural group Wisdom, A Voice from the Clouds , for the lintels of the three arches. Lawrie's carved rendering of Wisdom is above the center arch, flanked by Sound on the left and Light on the right. The Wisdom frieze above the entrance is accompanied by an inscription reading "Wisdom and Knowledge shall be

24208-485: The space without the LPC's permission, but Tishman Speyer supported the designation instead. On October 16, 2012, the commission designated the Rainbow Room as an interior landmark. The LPC's change in decision stemmed from the fact that it had determined that some elements of the restaurant were old enough to be worthy of the historic status. Subsequently, Tishman Speyer announced that the Rainbow Room would reopen in late 2014, with

24386-417: The stability of thy times", from Isaiah 33:6 (KJV). The sculptural groups are accompanied by polychrome decorations created by Léon-Victor Solon . Lawrie's three renderings are complemented by two limestone bas-reliefs by Leo Friedlander : one of Production on the north elevation and one of Radio on the south elevation. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, the annex building to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, contains

24564-414: The staircases on the restaurant's western side, there is also a platform for bands and a shallow balcony for entertainers. The handrails on the staircases behind the platform contain brass mullions with glass panes between each mullion. There are also stairs and a dumbwaiter behind the platform, which lead to the 64th floor kitchen. False columns on the eastern wall conceal small compartments for operating

24742-443: The steel structure of the RCA Building started in March 1932. Several artists were hired to design artwork for the RCA Building. Lee Lawrie was hired to design the RCA Building's eastern entrance in June 1932, at which point the sunken plaza in front of the building was also announced. The next month, Barry Faulkner was commissioned to create a large glass mosaic on the western entrance facing Sixth Avenue. Gaston Lachaise received

24920-456: The stratosphere can far exceed those in the troposphere, reaching near 60 m/s (220 km/h; 130 mph) in the Southern polar vortex . In 1902, Léon Teisserenc de Bort from France and Richard Assmann from Germany, in separate but coordinated publications and following years of observations, published the discovery of an isothermal layer at around 11–14 km (6.8-8.7 mi), which

25098-432: The stratosphere dynamically stable: there is no regular convection and associated turbulence in this part of the atmosphere. However, exceptionally energetic convection processes, such as volcanic eruption columns and overshooting tops in severe supercell thunderstorms , may carry convection into the stratosphere on a very local and temporary basis. Overall, the attenuation of solar UV at wavelengths that damage DNA by

25276-432: The stratosphere is termed as Brewer-Dobson circulation , which is a single-celled circulation, spanning from the tropics up to the poles, consisting of the tropical upwelling of air from the tropical troposphere and the extra-tropical downwelling of air. Stratospheric circulation is a predominantly wave-driven circulation in that the tropical upwelling is induced by the wave force by the westward propagating Rossby waves , in

25454-470: The stratosphere, resulting in a temperature inversion. This increase of temperature with altitude is characteristic of the stratosphere; its resistance to vertical mixing means that it is stratified. Within the stratosphere temperatures increase with altitude (see temperature inversion ) ; the top of the stratosphere has a temperature of about 270 K (−3 °C or 26.6 °F ). This vertical stratification , with warmer layers above and cooler layers below, makes

25632-613: The studios were suspended from the superstructure, insulating the studios. In addition, there were double- and triple-height spaces for exhibitions, plays, and other events. NBC, ABC , and CBS (collectively the Big Three TV Networks ) had offices on Sixth Avenue and studios in Midtown during the mid-20th century. The first television shows at the NBC Studios were broadcast from studio 3H in 1935, and more TV studios were added after World War II as television gained popularity. During

25810-424: The subsequent formation of OH. Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is produced by biological activity at the surface and is oxidised to NO in the stratosphere; the so-called NO x radical cycles also deplete stratospheric ozone. Finally, chlorofluorocarbon molecules are photolysed in the stratosphere releasing chlorine atoms that react with ozone giving ClO and O 2 . The chlorine atoms are recycled when ClO reacts with O in

25988-399: The themes that were represented. Rockefeller Center's managers had asked Brangwyn to omit a depiction of Jesus Christ from one of the panels; the artist ultimately depicted Jesus with his back turned. Brangwyn's and Sert's corridor murals measure 17 by 25 feet (5.2 by 7.6 m) each. Architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern described Brangwyn's murals as "insipid", a quality worsened by

26166-408: The time of the building's construction, they could be seen from the elevated rail line above Sixth Avenue. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was designed with about 2,100,000 square feet (200,000 m ) of rentable space in total. The eastern tower contains the Rainbow Room restaurant on the 65th floor, while the Rockefeller family office occupied the tower's 54th through 56th floors until 2014. The tower

26344-426: The top floors, Westinghouse installed eight express elevators in the RCA Building. They moved at an average speed of 1,200 ft/min (370 m/min) and were so expensive that they constituted 13 percent of the building's entire construction cost. One elevator reached a top speed of 1,400 ft/min (430 m/min) and was dubbed "the fastest passenger elevator ride on record". These elevators cost about $ 17,000

26522-547: The tops of the elevator banks inside; this arrangement is repeated on the facade of the International Building. Similarly, 30 Rockefeller Plaza also contains notches at its corners. The eastern elevation's setbacks were included exclusively for aesthetic purposes. By contrast, the layout and massing of Rockefeller Center's other buildings were intended to maximize rental profit. 30 Rockefeller Plaza's limestone facade includes spandrels with quadruple-leaf motifs in

26700-557: The upper stratosphere, or when ClO reacts with itself in the chemistry of the Antarctic ozone hole. Paul J. Crutzen, Mario J. Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995 for their work describing the formation and decomposition of stratospheric ozone. Commercial airliners typically cruise at altitudes of 9–12 km (30,000–39,000 ft) which is in

26878-399: The walls are made of marble and plaster separated by a bronze molding. Offices from the outer walls open onto the mezzanine balconies. There are staircases from the lobby to both the concourse and mezzanine, west of the lobby's elevator banks. When the building opened, it contained a rotunda at the mezzanine level, measuring 67 feet (20 m) across with a photomural surrounding it. The mural

27056-402: The walls illuminate the space. The famed lighting designer Edward F. Caldwell & Co. designed the room's original four chandeliers. There are mirrors in the alcove, the eastern and western walls, and around the stage, which were intended to reflect the activity of the room in both the figurative and literal senses. The menu of the Rainbow Room focuses on Modern American cuisine and in 2017

27234-503: The western wall behind the stage, that was eventually moved to the Toledo Museum of Art in 2017. In 1987, Dale DeGroff was hired to lead the bar program at the Rainbow Room. There he made a list of classic and forgotten pre- Prohibition cocktails. For this menu, DeGroff reintroduced production of the Nick & Nora glass, and named it for the characters Nick and Nora Charles . In 1998,

27412-436: The western wall extended to the northeast and southeast so as to avoid the rotating dance floor. A raised platform at the northwest corner of the room allows a full view of the space. The seats of the Rainbow Room are organized in "tiers". The northern and southern walls, as well as an alcove on the Rainbow Room's east end, offer single-tiered seating, while the northeast and southwest corners contain double-tiered seating. Between

27590-563: The windowless center section of the building, which would have otherwise been used as an unprofitable office space. The central part of the building could also use fewer columns, which was suitable for large broadcast studios but not for the bases of skyscrapers. Over 1,500 mi (2,400 km) of utility wires stretched through this part of the building, which was powered by direct current . Two floors were reserved for future TV studios, and five more stories were reserved for audience members and guests. The floor, wall, and ceiling surfaces of

27768-486: The world of the dance. From the beginning the Rainbow Room has done the unexpected, sponsored the new, and set the fashion for the rest of the dance world to follow." A New York Times article in 1965 noted that the Rainbow Room's clientele included "actors, debutantes, tourists, businessmen and secretaries" who flocked to the Rainbow Room for the $ 9.50 prix fixe dinner. A dining guide in the Times , published in 1975, described

27946-456: The world records for vertical speed skydiving, reached with a peak velocity of 1,321 km/h (822 mph) and total freefall distance of 123,414 ft (37,617 m) – lasting four minutes and 27 seconds. The stratosphere is a region of intense interactions among radiative, dynamical , and chemical processes, in which the horizontal mixing of gaseous components proceeds much more rapidly than does vertical mixing. The overall circulation of

28124-426: Was also broadcast from 30 Rockefeller Plaza until 1994, when it moved to 10 Rockefeller Plaza. The Rockefeller family's office, Room 5600, occupied the entire 56th floor. The family's Rockefeller Foundation rented the entire floor below, and two other organizations supported by the Rockefellers also moved into the building. Daniel Okrent , author of the book Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center , said

28302-482: Was characterized as something that "bows to the ladies [and] steps back in a kind of restrained Oriental way" by the magazine Arts & Decoration , and as "modern, like most post-Repeal ventures" by Architectural Forum . The 1987 renovation brought the Rainbow Room into an "American Modern" or simplified classical style. The Rainbow Room occupies the eastern part of 30 Rockefeller Plaza's 65th floor, which occupies 13,500 square feet (1,250 m). The central part of

28480-430: Was closed again in 1965, this time for renovations. The refurbishment restored the establishment to its 1930s decor. The historical accuracy of the decor continued through the 1970s. Throughout the years, the Rainbow Room lost its sense of exclusivity, as almost anyone could book a reservation at the restaurant. However, even through the 1980s and 1990s, the restaurant still hosted the occasional politician. On June 16, 1966,

28658-544: Was collected at a height of 41 kilometres in a high-altitude balloon experiment and was found to contain bacterial material when examined later in the laboratory. Some bird species have been reported to fly at the upper levels of the troposphere. On November 29, 1973, a Rüppell's vulture ( Gyps rueppelli ) was ingested into a jet engine 11,278 m (37,000 ft) above the Ivory Coast . Bar-headed geese ( Anser indicus ) sometimes migrate over Mount Everest , whose summit

28836-408: Was constructing Rockefeller Center, relocated to the RCA Building on April 22, 1933, becoming the first tenants. The RCA Building was slated to officially open on May 1, 1933. Its opening was delayed until mid-May because of a controversy over Rivera's Man at the Crossroads , which in large part stemmed from the communist motifs of the mural. On May 10, 1933, Rivera was ordered to stop all work on

29014-402: Was designed by Wallace K. Harrison of Associated Architects. Interior designer Elena Bachman Schmidt , a one-time apprentice of Elsie de Wolfe , contributed to the design of the interior decor, such as the furniture, curtains, and elevator doors. Vincente Minnelli was assigned to help Schmidt select the colors of the walls. The restaurant opened in 1934, and was the highest restaurant in

29192-446: Was developed as part of the construction of Rockefeller Center , and work on its superstructure started in March 1932. The first tenant moved into the building on April 22, 1933, but its official opening was delayed due to controversy over Man at the Crossroads . The Rainbow Room and the observation deck opened in the mid-1930s, and retail space was added to the ground floor in the 1950s. The building remained almost fully occupied through

29370-418: Was fabricated at four factories in New York state and then shipped to New York City. Two traveling cranes lifted the stone from the ground to two hoists 70 feet (21 m) high, which then raised the stone to the upper floors. The stonework of the primary tower was completed on December 7, 1932, without fanfare. Officials said at the time that they did not host a ceremony for the stonework's completion because

29548-412: Was instead taken up by SixtyFive. The Rainbow Room's only public operating hours were on Sunday mornings and afternoons, and on Monday nights; the rest of the time, the restaurant was used for private celebrations. The restaurant's chef, Jonathan Wright, planned to serve "French-influenced farm-to-table" cuisine at the reopened restaurant. In 2017, the Rainbow Room won an award for interior architecture from

29726-479: Was not "sufficiently familiar with the usual method of dispensing alcoholic beverages in the average high grade club." Rockefeller was reportedly discomfited by the performance of Lucienne Boyer , a French diseuse (storyteller) and singer, at the Rainbow Room's opening. He avoided going to or even talking about the Rainbow Room after the opening night, instead leaving the task to others. The media anticipated that "Jack Rockefeller's saloon and dance hall" would become

29904-501: Was not a drinker himself: on opening night, a critic for the New York Daily News had written, "throughout his life, whenever he has been asked 'Wot'll it be?', [Rockefeller] has always replied, 'milk'." However, Rockefeller reluctantly agreed to operate the Rainbow Room, since no one else would take the risk of operating the establishment. He told Arthur Woods , a close associate and the chairman of Rockefeller Center Inc, that he

30082-435: Was one of the Associated Architects' principals, but he was not the complex's main architect; that distinction belonged to Raymond Hood . However, Hood's health was deteriorating by 1933, and as the months passed, Harrison had an incrementally increased involvement in Rockefeller Center's design. John R. Todd , the main consulting architect, attributed the terrace layout of the Rainbow Room to one of Harrison's designs. Schmidt,

30260-506: Was originally hired to paint four murals in the northern lobby corridor: Time ; Spirit of Dance ; Man's Triumph in Communication ; Conquest of Disease ; Abolition of Bondage ; Fraternity of Men ; and Contest-1940 , depicting different aspects of the world and mankind. Frank Brangwyn painted four murals on the southern corridor, all of which symbolize humans' relationship with spirituality; he complemented these murals with stencils of

30438-410: Was originally taken up by Diego Rivera 's Man at the Crossroads mural, which was controversial because of its communist imagery and was destroyed in 1934. Rockefeller officials commissioned a sixth mural from Sert, representing the past, present, and future, which they installed in the lobby in 1941. The mural measures 100 by 50 feet (30 by 15 m) and is installed on the ceiling. Below

30616-424: Was rated by Zagat as "very expensive". This stems from its legacy as a lunch club , where New York's more elite and influential figures could gather to socialize over cocktails , dine on fine cuisine, and dance on the revolving floor. A 1965 New York Times article stated that the dinner choices included "coquille joinville, steak marchand de vin, and parfait au liquers". In 1984, New York magazine wrote that

30794-406: Was recessed so far into the block that it could have risen without any setbacks. Hood decided to include setbacks anyway, as they represented "a sense of future, a sense of energy, a sense of purpose", according to architecture expert Alan Balfour . Above the lowest stories, the north and south elevations rise straight up for 33 stories before setting back gradually. There are three setbacks each on

30972-424: Was taken apart in the 1950s and the rotunda itself was demolished in the 1970s. A new rotunda was constructed from 2014 to 2015, accessed from the ground floor by a 16-foot-wide (4.9 m) staircase; the rotunda contains two LED displays, each measuring 60 feet (18 m) wide and 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. From 1960 to October 1993, the building's mezzanine level housed the New York City weather forecast office of

31150-694: Was taken by the Greek consulate, the Chinese consulate, the National Health Council , and a branch of the Chase National Bank . A double-height space at the center of the ground story, which had been difficult to rent, opened as the Municipal Art Exhibition in February 1934. The space, referred to as the Forum, had contained a large stairway leading up to a second-story balcony with exhibition rooms. Despite

31328-572: Was the only one of the Big Three that retained studios in Midtown by the mid-1980s. Studio 8H , which hosts Saturday Night Live , is the largest of the studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, with a capacity of 1,200 or 1,400 guests. Studio 8H was once the largest radio studio in the world and was originally home to the NBC Symphony Orchestra before being converted into a television studio in 1950. Another major studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza

31506-436: Was then renovated in 1941. As part of the project, an overpass at mezzanine level was removed, the lighting was brightened, and another mural by Jose Maria Sert was installed. An air-raid siren was installed atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 1942 during World War II. The Rainbow Room and Grill atop the RCA Building was closed at the end of that December because of staffing shortages. In 1943, Rockefeller Center's managers purchased

31684-445: Was used for private events, including a 1947 dinner in which Nelson Rockefeller launched a furniture-designing contest, as well as a 1949 fundraiser for The Salvation Army . The Rainbow Room was also proposed to be converted into a theater in 1949, and several theatrical operators submitted bids for the space. The restaurant reopened to the public in 1950, initially only as a cocktail lounge that shuttered at 9 p.m. The Rainbow Room

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