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The tour begins at St. Patrick's Cathedral at 5th Ave between 50th & 51st Streets. This tour is best experienced on a mobile phone.
This skyscraper at 1270 Avenue of the Americas, or Sixth Avenue, was part of the original design of Radio City and housed the Radio Corporation of America offices. Look up, and you will see three bas-relief sculptures on the building’s facade. They were completed in 1932 by American artist Robert Garrison. Allegories of time, the panels are titled “Morning,” “Present,” and “Evening.”
1260 Sixth Avenue was initially intended to be the home of the Metropolitan Opera House. John D. Rockefeller Jr. had leased the land from Columbia University to build the famed Opera a new home, but Black Tuesday and the resulting financial crisis doomed these plans.
Rockefeller then approached the media conglomerate Radio Corporation of America to partner in the construction of a new theater complex. In 1930, a third partner was added, the theatrical impresario S.L. “Roxy” Rothafel.
The Radio City complex of buildings, including the Music Hall and the attached 31-story skyscraper, was completed in 1932. Radio City Music Hall was designed by Edward Durell Stone in the Art Deco style. The exterior features a marquee that you’ll see, when we turn the corner, runs the length of a city block, starting on Sixth Avenue and rounding the corner down 50th Street.
At the time of its completion, the Music Hall was the largest indoor theater in the world, with an auditorium measuring 160 feet from the back of the Hall to the stage. It has 5,960 seats. The interior design was overseen and executed by Donald Deskey and is filled with custom Art Deco murals, sculptures, furniture, fixtures, and textiles.
The Music Hall, and the skyscraper it supports, was the first building constructed within the Rockefeller complex. Upon its completion, Roxy Rothafel made the Hall the new home of a dance troupe he had previously been involved with, the Roxyettes - now better known as the Rockettes.
For thirty years, the Hall was primarily used for film screenings and stage performances, but in recent decades has hosted concerts, shows, and special events, like the Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, and the NFL Draft.
Now, let’s cross 50th and turn left so we can look at the sculptures on the Hall’s southern facade.
These three large metal and enamel sculptures are by American artist Hildreth Meière. Celebrating the events hosted by the Hall, the sculptures are titled Dance, Drama, and Song.
Let’s continue heading east along 50th Street, back toward St. Patrick’s Cathedral and our next stop, the Atlas Sculpture.
On your right, you will pass a lit entrance into 30 Rockefeller Plaza (sometimes called 30 Rock). This entrance leads into NBC Studios, where shows like Saturday Night Live are filmed.
Continue heading east until you reach 5th Avenue.
When you reach 5th Avenue, turn left. Then, walk half a block and you’ll see, on your left, the incredible bronze statue called Atlas, which is set within Rockefeller Center’s courtyard. Let’s pause here for a moment.
This Art Deco sculpture, which was installed in 1937, depicts the ancient Greek Titan Atlas holding the heavens on his shoulders. Spanning 45 feet tall and weighing nearly 7 tons, the work was created by the sculptor Lee Lawrie with the help of Rene Paul Chambellan. Lee Lawrie was also commissioned to create a work in St. Bartholomew’s Church, which we previously visited. Lawrie’s work evolved as architecture did, spanning Beaux-Arts to neo-Gothic to art deco styles.
We’ve all felt like we’ve carried the weight of the world on our shoulders at one point or another. It may have seemed like you couldn’t put the weight down, fearing things couldn't carry on without you. When it’s taken to the extreme, some people refer to this as, “The Atlas Complex.”
Think back to a time when you felt like this. Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Reflect on how and why the weight lifted. Take another moment to acknowledge how you were able to make it through a tough situation.
What is one takeaway or successful strategy from that experience that you could quickly draw upon the next time you feel burdened?
Now, let’s retrace our steps, walking south on Fifth Avenue. Cross 50th Street, and then you'll see an opening in the middle of the block (between 49th and 50th) on your right, leading into the Channel Gardens. Let’s turn right into the gardens.
Now, on your tour screen, select Channel Gardens from the pull-down menu to begin reading about the Channel Gardens.
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