Opened in 1933, the observation deck at Rockefeller Center was designed to evoke the elegant promenades found on the period's luxury transatlantic liners—only with views of the city's skyline instead of the ocean. In 1986 this cultural landmark was closed to the public and sat unused for almost two decades. Last November, the observation deck was reopened following a $75 million renovation that restored the Art Deco masterpiece to perfection.
 |
| PHOTO: BOB ZUCKER |
Key to the deck's renovation was the creation of a full Top of the Rock “experience.” Visitors begin their tour in the building's new three-story atrium lobby, where sweeping glass stairs circle around a giant Swarovski chandelier with 14,000 crystals. Rockefeller Center's elevator room was moved and extended by the Building Team to make room for a set of new elevator cars dedicated to whisking guests to the now-combined 67th, 69th, and 70th floors.
 |
| Closed for nearly two decades, the observation deck at Rockefeller Center has been restored to its original 1933 Art Deco appearance. New features include a nine-foot-tall, basesupported safety wall fitted with nonreflective glass panels to ensure unobstructed views of Central Park and the skyline. PHOTO: BOB ZUCKER |
At the top, visitors can wander through a series of rooms and terraces leading upward to the Grand Viewing Deck, encountering exhibits and a theater focused on the history of Rockefeller Center along the way. An interactive display gives visitors the illusion of walking a structural steel beam suspended 67 stories above the street.
Out on the decks and terraces, the Building Team restored the shot-sewn limestone and cast aluminum fleur-de-lis panels. They installed new nine-foot-tall, base-supported, nonreflective peri-glass safety barriers that withstand 100-mph winds. A coil snow melt system was also added to keep the deck from becoming slushy or dangerously icy. The result: 360-degree views of the Big Apple, in a setting worthy of the name Top of the Rock.
Related Stories
| Apr 19, 2013
Must see: Shell of gutted church on stilts, 40 feet off the ground
Construction crews are going to extremes to save the ornate brick façade of the Provo (Utah) Tabernacle temple, which was ravaged by a fire in December 2010.
| Apr 17, 2013
First look: Renzo Piano's glass-domed motion pictures museum
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last week released preliminary plans for its $300 million Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum in Los Angeles, designed by Renzo Piano and local architect Zoltan Pali.
| Apr 16, 2013
5 projects that profited from insulated metal panels
From an orchid-shaped visitor center to California’s largest public works project, each of these projects benefited from IMP technology.
| Apr 12, 2013
Nation's first 'food forest' planned in Seattle
Seattle's Beacon Food Forest project is transforming a seven-acre lot in the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood into a self-sustaining, edible public park.
| Apr 12, 2013
Chicago rail conversion puts local twist on High Line strategy
Plans are moving forward to convert an unused, century-old Chicago rail artery to a 2.7 mile, 13 acre recreational facility and transit corridor.
| Apr 11, 2013
George W. Bush Presidential Center achieves LEED Platinum certification
The George W. Bush Presidential Center announced today it has earned Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. The Bush Center is the first presidential library to achieve LEED Platinum certification under New Construction.
| Apr 11, 2013
American Folk Art Museum, opened in 2001, to be demolished
Just 12 years old, the museum designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien will be taken down to make way for MoMA expansion.
| Apr 5, 2013
Snøhetta design creates groundbreaking high-tech library for NCSU
The new Hunt Library at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, incorporates advanced building features, including a five-story robotic bookBot automatic retrieval system that holds 2 million volumes in reduced space.
