Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Landmark in 1987.
(
www.rockefellercenter.com
; Fifth to Sixth Aves & 48th to 51st Sts;
24hr, times vary for
individual businesses;
B/D/F/M to 47th-50th Sts-Rockefeller Center)
4
Radio City Music Hall
NOTABLE BUILDING
A spectacular art deco diva, this 5901-seat movie palace was the brainchild of vaudeville
producer Samuel Lionel 'Roxy' Rothafel. Never one for understatement, Roxy launched
his venue on 23 December 1932 with an over-the-top extravaganza that included a Sym-
phony of the Curtains (starring…you guessed it…the curtains) and the high-kick camp-
ness of precision dance troupe the Roxyettes (wisely renamed the Rockettes).
(
www.radiocity.com
;
1260 Sixth Ave, at 51st St; tours adult/child $20/15;
tours 11am-3pm;
B/D/F/M to
47th-50th Sts-Rockefeller Center)
Understand
Midtown Skyscrapers: The Best of the Rest
Midtown's skyline is more than just the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings, with enough modernist and post-
modern beauties to satisfy the wildest of high-rise dreams. Celebrate all things phallic with three of Midtown's
finest.
Lever House
Upon its debut, 21-storey
Lever House
(F2; 390 Park Ave, btwn 53rd & 54th Sts, Midtown East; E, M to
Fifth Ave-53rd St) was at the height of the cutting-edge, with only the UN Secretariat Building also boasting an
innovative glass skin. The building's form was equally bold: two counter-posed rectangular shapes consisting of a
slender tower atop a low-rise base. The open courtyard features marble benches by Japanese-American sculptor
Isamu Noguchi, while the lobby exhibits contemporary art commissioned for the space.
Hearst Tower
Foster & Partners'
Hearst Tower
(C1; 949 Eighth Ave, btwn 56th & 57th Ave, Midtown West; A/C, B/D, 1
to 59th St-Columbus Circle) is hands down one of New York's most creative works of contemporary architecture.
Its diagonal grid of trusses evokes a jagged glass-and-steel honeycomb, best appreciated up close and from an
angle. The tower rises above the hollowed-out core of John Urban's 1928 cast-stone Hearst Magazine Building,
itself originally envisioned as a skyscraper. In the lobby you'll find
Riverlines
, a mural by Richard Long.
