The Rockefeller Center

The Rockefeller Center

"Although John D. Rockefeller Jr. spent most of his life engaged in philanthropy, his single, defining business venture was the creation of the "city within a city”. Constructed during the Great Depression's worst years, the project gainfully employed over 40,000 people.

When Rockefeller Center officially opened in May 1933, it held true to the developing team's belief that art was an act of good citizenship. 30 Rockefeller Plaza boasted a grand lobby decorated by accomplished European artists, Frank Brangwyn and José Maria Sert."

Notable Events
 * 1938: The Associated Press Building, at 50 Rockefeller Plaza, is the first Center building to operate profitably the year it opens.
 * 1959: The Time & Life Building is completed, the first of four Rockefeller Center-developed office buildings on the west side of Sixth Avenue.
 * 1985: Rockefeller Center terminates its ground lease by buying the land it sits on from Columbia University.
 * 1989: Mitsubishi Estate Co. buys majority interest in the Center.
 * 1997: Goldman Sachs, Tishman Speyer, and David Rockefeller acquire controlling ownership of Rockefeller Center from Mitsubishi.
 * 2000: Tishman Speyer takes full control of what CEO Jerry Speyer calls "a singular real estate asset that has transcended time.” The vacancy rate is now less than 1%.

Tishman Speyer Executive Team
Accessed September 2009:


 * Rob Speyer - President and Co-CEO
 * Jerry Speyer - Chairman and Co-CEO
 * Robert V. Tishman - Founding Chairman

Criticism

 * Robert Fitch, The Assassination of New York (Verso, 1993).

Contact

 * Web: http://www.rockefellercenter.com

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * Andreas Dracopoulos