anna bearzotti sara cusmà piccione francesca medeossi natalia janscak
TRANSCRIPT
ROCKEFELLER CENTERROCKEFELLER CENTER
Anna BearzottiSara Cusmà PiccioneFrancesca Medeossi
Natalia Janscak
Rockefeller center Location: in the centre of Midtown, Manhattan, New York City (30
Rockefeller Plaza, bet W50 and W51. West 48th to 51st Streets between 5th and 6th Avenues )
Architects: Raymond Hood ( with Wallace K. Harrison, Harvey W. Corbett, Fouilhoux, Reinhard, Hofmeister,
and MacMurray)
Commission: John D. Rockefeller
Built: 1931-1940
Centerpiece: 30 Rockefeller Plaza,
its tallest structure
Raymond Hood(1881-1934)
Studies: Brown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris
His first major commission, the Chicago Tribune Tower (1922) has a Gothic Style.
Then, he takes distances from the Gothic.
1930: Mc Graw Hill Building
Notes Construction: from 1931 to 1940
Construction of 10 different units: the last (the National Cash Register Company's offices) was completed in 1940
An international symbol of modernist architectural style: the only major private construction project underway in New York during the Depression
A city within a city: all in a single complex (public and private activities)
Pedestrian-friendly: it hosts a sunken garden and the Channel Gardens
Latest technical refinements: elevators, air conditioning
RKO motion picture theater: the first building completed, it opened in 1932
1987: it was declared a National Historic Landmark
Now there are 21 buildings
The original Rockefeller Center buildings are:
1 Rockefeller Plaza (formerly the Time and Life Building)
10 Rockefeller Plaza (formerly the Eastern Airlines Building)
1270 Avenue of the Americas Building (formerly the RKO Building)
The Associated Press Building
The British Empire Building
Channel Gardens (between the British Empire Building and La Maison Francaise.)
The International Building
La Maison Francaise
Palazzo d'Italia
The Simon & Schuster Building (formerly the U.S. Rubber Company Building)
John D. Rockefeller
1928: he leases the area from Columbia University; the area had lost much of its appeal by the 1920s
Original plan: a commercial and civic center with 3 office towers and an opera house, around a plaza
The Opera withdrew from the project: Rockefeller Center was transformed into a massive speculative commercial and entertainment development, first called Radio City
1931: final scheme
Beaux-Arts design, Art Deco Architecture
The project accommodated both business and leisure activities
Murals: Sert and Brangwyn; also Rivera who made a scandal
Prometheus
Rockefeller Plaza
Channel Gardens
probably the city's finest public space
animated fountainheads, surrounded by benches and lush landscaping
GE Building The highlight of the complex
850 feet tall
Radio City Music Hall
one of two theaters originally built
Designer: Donald Deskey
International Building
The Friendship of France and the United States
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Maison Française
British Empire Building