ROCKEFELLER CENTER Rockefeller Center Plaza

2:21

The Rockefeller Center Plaza is dominated by the striking Art Deco figure of the Comcast Building, the tallest skyscraper in the complex, at a height of 259 meters. Until 2015, it was called GE Building, in honor of its previous owner, General Electric, and it is still popularly known by this name. On the façade, you can admire the monumental frieze entitled “Wisdom” on which, between the compass needles held by a bearded god, a pearl of wisdom can be read. The skyscraper is, however, best known for its delightful panoramic terrace on the 70th floor: the Top of the Rock.

If you decide to take one of the elevators with a transparent roof, the experience on the way up will leave you in awe: the views are truly striking, especially the view over Central Park and the Empire State Building.

When you come back down to earth, or actually one level below the Plaza, you can admire the gilded statue of Prometheus, in possession of the fire stolen from Zeus, depicted against the backdrop of a waterfall within a ring featuring the signs of the zodiac. On the opposite side, at street level, you can also see the first two humans he created, “Youth” and “Maiden”: the two statues, with their solid presence, almost appear to be his bodyguards!

If you’re visiting New York in the depths of winter, instead of the outdoor tables on the lower part of the Plaza, you’ll find a very busy ice-skating rink, set up every year in the shadow of the imposing Christmas tree, the tallest in New York, which you’re bound to recognize from one of the many famous movies it appears in.

AN INTERESTING FACT: in May 2017, the splendid figure of Prometheus was for a time overshadowed by the figure of a woman, the “Seated Ballerina”: a gigantic, 14-meter-high inflatable dancer depicted fixing her ballet shoes, symbolizing passion and dedication, and at the same time, in keeping with the intentions of the figure’s noble sponsors, focusing attention on the controversial issue of children who have disappeared or been ill-treated.

TravelMate recommends
Choose the option
that suits you
Buy New York
Permanently unlock the app with all content of New York for
€ 8,99
Buy
Promotion
Unlock audio content of all available cities for 3 years at the promotional price
€ 19,99
Buy
Don't miss out!
NEW YORK INTRODUCTION
1 Audio

NEW YORK INTRODUCTION

It is home to the headquarters of the United Nations, and is the world’s financial capital, with all the other Stock Exchanges influenced by Wall Street.It is also the most densely populated...
THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE
1 Audio

THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE

Another famous dish is Chicken à la King, a sauce made with diced chicken cooked in cream with sherry and mushrooms and served with pasta or rice.New York is a multi-ethnic city, and while New...
TIMES SQUARE
2 Audio

TIMES SQUARE

The best time to enjoy it in all its glittering splendor is, of course, at dusk, when darkness begins to descend over the city and a new sun – created by thousands of lights and neon signs...
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
2 Audio

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING

This striking 443-meter-high building owes its fame not just to its record height – for over 30 years, from 1931 to 1967, it was the world’s tallest building – but to how quickly it...
NEW WORLD TRADE CENTER
3 Audio

NEW WORLD TRADE CENTER

And the World Trade Center certainly has risen up! It’s an impressive sight, isn’t it?One World Trade Center is the highest skyscraper in the western hemisphere, and one of the top ten...
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
4 Audio

MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

The first location of the museum, in 1929, was the modest twelfth floor of a nearby building. After such humble beginnings and the continual moves along 53rd Street, the museum eventually took up...
CENTRAL PARK
3 Audio

CENTRAL PARK

In the early decades of the 19th century, following the surge in population and the growth of the city, when this area was chosen to create an outdoor space, there was nothing more than bogs, swamps...
BROOKLYN BRIDGE
1 Audio

BROOKLYN BRIDGE

When it was inaugurated in 1883, its 1825-meter span made it the longest suspension bridge in the world, and the first to be stayed with steel cables. However, this marvelous work of architecture,...
STATUE OF LIBERTY
4 Audio

STATUE OF LIBERTY

And so, in 1886, a little behind schedule, this huge, hollow, bronze statue, took up its place on Liberty Island, began greeting the millions of immigrants arriving in the city from Europe and earning...
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM
2 Audio

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM

Its origins are tied to the figure of Solomon R. Guggenheim, a wealthy US industrialist who, towards 1930, began collecting works by classic artists. However, it was thanks to the German artist and...
HIGH LINE
1 Audio

HIGH LINE

Let’s start from the beginning, though, in the early 20th century, when this area of Manhattan, around Chelsea and above all, the Meatpacking District, was both highly industrialized and deeply...
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
1 Audio

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

This circular-shaped building, flanked by Penn Station on one side and the Post Office on the other, is a magnificent music and sports venue, famous not only for the sold-out shows by top rock stars...
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
6 Audio

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

The Met is one of the largest and busiest art museums in the world, and as you can imagine, given its size, one day won’t be enough to enjoy all the marvelous works displayed here.But...
ROCKEFELLER CENTER
5 Audio

ROCKEFELLER CENTER

The Rockefeller Center is one of the most renowned financial and business complexes in the world, a bricks-and-mortar example of the realization of the great American dream.The Center is named after a...
WALL STREET
2 Audio

WALL STREET

The name of the street, widely used to refer to the emblematic New York Stock Exchange, derives from a barrier that was built in the first half of the 17th century by the Dutch colonists to mark the...
BRYANT PARK
2 Audio

BRYANT PARK

If it weren’t for the commanding skyscrapers surrounding Bryant Park, you might well think you were in Paris, in a sort of “Petit Luxembourg”: and indeed, this is the very nickname...
FLATIRON BUILDING
1 Audio

FLATIRON BUILDING

Its real name is the Fuller Building, but it’s better known by its nickname.Its triangular shape, due to the lot it was built on, indeed resembles an iron, although given its narrowest corner,...
GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL
3 Audio

GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL

It represents the marble and granite dream of the tycoon Vanderbilt, who turned the Grand Central Depot, built in the second half of the 19th century, into a marvel of early-twentieth-century...
UNION SQUARE
1 Audio

UNION SQUARE

The square, with a little park in the center, is also home to a vibrant farmers’ market, frequented by award-winning chefs and lovers of fine food. The produce on sale at the stalls varies from...
WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK
1 Audio

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK

As you can see, the park is dominated by the imposing Stanford White Arch, better known as the Washington Square Arch.This triumphal arch, now in marble, was originally built in plaster and wood in...
LINCOLN CENTER
2 Audio

LINCOLN CENTER

Its origins date back to the second half of the 20th century, when a group of illustrious figures, led by John D. Rockefeller III, grandson of the famous tycoon and head of one of the richest families...
LITTLE ITALY
1 Audio

LITTLE ITALY

And as if this decline were not enough, the New York home of the Italian emigrants who settled here at the end of the nineteenth century is dramatically disappearing. The original area is now reduced...
CHINATOWN
1 Audio

CHINATOWN

Once you step into Chinatown, which continues to expand well beyond the original area between Canal, Bowery, Worth and Baxter Streets, among the intricate tangle of electrical cables strung between...
SAINT JOHN THE DIVINE
2 Audio

SAINT JOHN THE DIVINE

So it’s fair to say that the aspiration of Bishop Henry Codman Potter to found a cathedral able to rival the Roman Catholic St. Patrick’s Cathedral has exceeded his expectations, and not...
TravelMate App
DOWNLOAD NOW
THE TRAVELMATE APP
Purchase your activation code, download the TravelMate App, and turn your smartphone into your personal travel companion!
Listen to audio guides about the wonders of the world with TravelMate.
HAVE FUN!