30 Rockefeller Plaza, Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York, United States
30 Rockefeller Plaza is a 66-story, 850-foot (260 m) Art Deco tower designed by Raymond Hood, with a limestone facade, a granite base and about 6,000 windows separated by aluminum spandrels. Its massing has three parts: the main tower to the east, a windowless center section and a 16-story annex to the west. The flat shaft rises in setbacks to a slender crown.
Completed in 1933 to designs by architect Raymond Hood, the tower first served as headquarters for the Radio Corporation of America. General Electric later took over the building and used it as a center for its operations.
The nickname 30 Rock comes from the building's address and gave its name to the NBC sitcom 30 Rock (2006–2013), set behind the scenes of a show produced here. The Rainbow Room occupies the upper floors, and Top of the Rock, reached by a separate entrance on 50th Street, appeared in the closing scenes of the 2011 thriller The Adjustment Bureau.
Sixty elevators carry visitors and workers through all floors, with some cars serving only specific zones. Access is through the main Rockefeller Center lobby, which also connects to the subway station below.
A famous photograph from 1932 shows construction workers taking their lunch break on a steel beam high above the ground during assembly. The image became a symbol of the courage of those who built New York upward.
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