Rockefeller Center

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Cindy Hurtado

During our walking tour, I felt like a tourist even though I live in New York and been in Manhattan many times.  With our class I had the opportunity to really observe my surroundings and get to know many new buildings.  Rockefeller Center really caught my attention because of the plaza and the main building in front. It is one of the most visited areas in the city.

Rockefeller center is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, between 48th and 51st street, 5th and 6th avenue.  It is a complex of 19 commercial buildings.  There is a pathway in the middle with retail stores on the sides. It’s also divided by a beautiful garden in the middle with fish fountains. It’s designed this way so tourists have the opportunity to see the stores and walk in. Rockefeller Center has one of the biggest and most known plazas in the city.  In this space you can go ice skating in the winter or have dinner in the summer.  My favorite time to go is in the winter when the beautiful Christmas tree is up and you can go ice skating with your friends and family.  When the Christmas tree comes down, they use that space for other different sculptures each year.  Along the plaza there are 200 flag poles from all over the world.  There is also a beautiful bronze gilded statue of the Greek legend, Titan Prometheus.   On the granite wall behind it says, “Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends.”   

It’s funny how I’ve been around this area many times but never decided to walk into the main building of Rockefeller Center, the RCA building.  The ground floor and mezzanine floor interior amazed me. The double height entrance lobby symbolically welcomes visitors, drawing them from the Rockefeller Plaza entrance into a beautiful mural designed by Jose Maria Sert and Frank Brangwyn.  The murals are all around the walls of the corridors where the elevators and shops are. Right outside the entrance there is detailed Art Deco design. It reads, “Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times.”

It was a good experience walking through Midtown Manhattan with the class. I got to learn more about the city and I’m now more motivated to go out more to get to know new buildings.  I will also continue visiting Rockefeller Center during the holidays; it’s something I can’t get tired of. 

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My Favorite…

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Jose Gonzalez

My favorite Architecture style…

New York City was the city that I was raised in, and the enjoyment of all the architecture began here. Manhattan has a few building of every style from the Georgian Colonial to the International Style. One of my favorite buildings growing up was the Museum of Natural History. I didn’t know about much about it I just knew it was huge made of stone and had a lot of nice things inside. Ever since then I liked the look of stone, columns and wide steps leading up to the entrance.it wasn’t till much later that my favorite style was Greek Revival and Romanesque Revival.

These two styles draw my attention because it makes me think and wonder how life was at that time. Also, that style was meant for places of importance and power.

A perfect building that has all of what I mentioned is the Pantheon. A Greek temple built to praise the gods of the times. The building has a huge temple front with 16 columns; to me this lets the building make a statement. When you step inside you step into this massive circular room. This gives it a different feel from regular rectangular Greek style of construction.

The dome itself is amazing; it looks very decorative because of the coffering. The coffering played a major part in the structural support of this 142 foot diameter dome. They lighten the structural load allowing the architect to have the opening in the middle of the dome. This opening is called the oculus and it’s the main source for natural light.

To me this style is a clean, classical, and for its time advanced. It’s one of my favorite styles, because like I mentioned before it makes me wonder about the way people lived in the past. To have these buildings still stand now is great, showing us where architecture once was and how good they were constructed. 

 

modellino del pantheon

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The Empire State Building

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Cindy Hurtado

New York City is well known for its many tall skyscrapers throughout the city.  People wonder how they can build so many of them close together and with a risky height.  One of the most famous buildings that represent the city is the Empire State building. It was built during a difficult time period but despite all the problems it had, everyone learned to admire it and fall in love with the building. The video shows the planning, the procedure, and the outcome of the Empire State building.

            John Jakob Raskob had a dream of having the world’s tallest building ever.  He brought together his partners, chose a site, and began planning.  He hired Shreve, Lamb & Harmon to be the architects for his new building. It is said that Raskob pulled a thick pencil out of a drawer and held it up to William Lamb and asked, “Bill, how high can you make it so that it won’t fall down?” They started planning right away.  It was decided that the height they can build was 85 stories high with a 200 foot tall tower on top making it 1,250 ft high. 

            Since the depression was hitting everyone greatly, people were motivated to work and help build the Empire State as quickly as possible. They knew there were people waiting for their position so they tried their best. It is amazing how they worked so quickly in a very dangerous environment.  In the video you can see them in groups of four men hanging from beams and passed hot metals to each other.  They were the true heroes of the building.

            When they finish construction, there was a big disappointment.  It was a commercial failure and an embarrassment to Raskob. They were able to rent out only 30 percent of the building leaving 56 vacant stories and giving it the name, the empty state building.  It wasn’t profitable due to its location. It didn’t have enough competition to draw in new tenants. Despite of all the problems and critiques they had, a year later everyone fell in love with the monument.

           The Empire State building marks the center of the island and became an important icon to the city. It has caught the attention of many throughout the world.  It is a beautiful and majestic building that lights up the city through the night. It is recommended to anyone visiting New York City to pass by and get to know the Empire State Building and its history. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m0TpUhylKc – Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiYn9d1CAto – Part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8BkEBv1sKY – Part 3

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Digital New York

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Catherine Brito

The Chrysler Building:
Style in the Sky

This is a very interesting video which you must watch. In this video you will find a very briefly story of the Chrysler building which will tell you so much about it.

The story of the Chrysler building is one that blends stories of the auto industry with the contributions that Walter P. Chrysler as well as the Chrysler Corporation made on different aspects of Americana. During a time of competition among industrial corporate titans and an evolving landscape in architecture, Walter P. Chrysler guided the design and construction of one of the most stunning buildings in the NYC skyline. This story gives access to a Chrysler experience that connects the style of the era as well as the lifestyle of Walter P. Chrysler. The story of the Chrysler Building offers insights into the family legacy that Walter P. Chrysler desired to leave. It also recognizes the significance of the building as a symbol of unique art deco American architecture that has captured the attention of designers, architects, tourists, entrepreneurs and others who appreciate the art deco effects that only welded steel and gargoyles against a setting of ornate murals and intricate designs can convey.

I find this video very useful because it tells you very briefly but concise, everything you need to know about this building, from its historical beginning to what architecture style and elements it uses. The most important aspects of this video are its emphasis in the Chrystal building style (Art Deco), It tells you every element of the Art Deco style. As well, it helps you remember every single element because is very detailed; it shows you the image of the element and tells you right after what it is. Another important aspect in this video is that it shows you that it doesn’t matter if the client of the building isn’t an architect, most of its suggestions to the building development can turn out much greater than the architect could of think.  Don’t underestimate your client’s thoughts!

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My favorite Building

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Catherine Brito

The Seagram Building

During our walking tour in Midtown Manhattan we had the opportunity of personally visualize some of the buildings that we had discussed in class. By looking at their features and aspects more closely, coming near or even entering the buildings it made us understand a lot more of them and their characteristics. Experiencing these buildings really has an impact on people, it could either make you like it or not. The Seagram Building by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson is the building that I chose over all the buildings we saw in the walking tour. And you may ask yourself why did I choose this building?

Sometimes you may not understand something until you actually experience it. The Seagram building is one of the early skyscrapers in NYC; it was built using the international Style which had enormous impact on America architecture. The first time I saw this building I really didn’t like it at all, to me it just appeared as a simple bronze box, but after coming close to it and after having the opportunity of appreciating most of its characteristics, including the peacefulness of its plaza it made me like it even more.

The Seagram has a many characteristics, it combine a braced frame with a moment frame, it was one of the first tall buildings to use a vertical truss bracing system and the first tall building to employ a composite steel and concrete lateral frame. It has large windows and windows blinds which are specifically selected to keep the façade appearance in an organized way. Mies specified window blinds which only operated in three positions – fully open, halfway open/closed, or fully closed.

However the characteristics I liked the most were the illuminated ceiling which I think it give to the building an unique look, and the plaza what create an urban open space in front of the building, with big water fountains at both sides of the entrance it creates a peaceful environment that serves as the gathering place for ether people coming out their office to have lunch, or people who are only walking by.

 

 

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True To It’s Name

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Baljinder

 

During the walking tour of Midtown Manhattan there were many interesting buildings and sites to view. One of my select favorites was the St. Bartholomew’s Church. Out of the many exciting structures that exist, this is one of my favorites because of its surrounding area and it’s delicacy.

Here are some basic facts about the St. Bartholomew’s church. St. Bartholomew’s Church is located on 109 E 50th Street at Park Avenue in Manhattan, NYC. It’s architect was Bertram Goodhue and the church was completed in the year 1919. There were two extensions designed by Mayers, Murray & Phillip; the Community House, completed in 1928 and the dome in 1930. The church’s style is considered Byzantine and Romanesque. St. Bartholomew’s is viewed as romanesque revival because of the three-door porch whose architects were McKim, Mead & White. The Community House and outdoor space is now a restaurant called “Inside Park.” The church also became a New York City Landmark in 1967.

One of the reasons why St. Bart’s (short name) is one of my favorite structures is they way it speaks to its location. Sometimes the location of a church can feel strange and out place if it is placed in between other structure’s outside if it’s style. However, St. Barts is located between many commercial and modern buildings, making it remarkable in the way it was designed to fit right in place even if a new building came along. The way the church blends right into the environment shows that the architects knew what they were doing. This could be due to the color scheme of light browns on the buildings that came in later on. Another reason on why it’s a great is because it is set onto the corner of the street. This becomes a focal point for the viewers when they tour that specific street. The surrounding buildings are large vertical skyscrapers, some of them are the GE Building and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

The exterior of the church provides for public space, which is a great use because people are able to enjoy the beauty while sitting, eating or relaxing. Not only does the public space provide this kind of experience, it also allows for its ornamentation to hold time. It takes awhile to actually take the church’s entire beautification from the outside.

Not only is the exterior of St. Bart’s adorned but so is the interior. When I stepped inside the church I was amazed and mesmerized. I’ve seen many churches and this is one of my favorites when it comes to the elegant embroidery of the entire interior. From the column’s made of granite to the carved wood to the stained glass dome. You actually need to stop and take a look at everything. The feeling is the true meaning of a church, peaceful, amazing and just lovely.

A church’s experience is enhanced when you can see it is the heart of the city and is a blend of the old and new. To support this statement, the church was originally built to become a major social welfare to the city and for those immigrating during the the nineteenth century. All done in support of the Vanderbilt family, this shows that the church expresses itself inside out. It is truly serving true to it’s name.

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My Favorite … (revised)

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Diana Gonzaga

One of my favorite buildings in New York City is the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.  I’ve never gone inside the building but I’ve seen it from the outside.  What catches me about this building is the exterior envelope it has.  It has all these different curves that make it stand out from its surrounding buildings.  This building is also very energy efficient which is also another quality that I like.

Even in my own designs for school, I like exploring different shapes, and forms, because it gives me more to work with.  Not only that but it also makes the design “yours”, recognizable to others as your own.

New York City is not only very diverse in the different cultures from around the world but it is also diverse in its buildings.  What is interesting about New York is the variety it has in the different types of forms that exist in the buildings.  Every turn you make in the city, you are going to see a different form or style of building.

I like contemporary architecture because it gives freedom to design.  I am not crazy about the “square” or “rectangular” shaped buildings because I feel that they didn’t put that much into the creativity.  I think squares and rectangles are very static whereas a made-up shape allows for movement whether it is on a building’s façade or the interior spaces.  I am drawn to things or in this case structures that are different shapes other than that of rectangles and squares.  I’m not saying I entirely dislike those buildings, certain things I do like.

Buildings, such as the Chrysler Building, which are mostly rectangular in shape is one of the few buildings that I like.  Its style is art deco and what I like about it is the stainless steel crown at the very top.  If you look closely at the detailing of the crown, you can notice that it looks like layering of buttresses from the Greek revival style.

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My New York (revised)

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Diana Gonzaga

Fast paced environment, a lot of stress, tons of people which include tourists, tall buildings, numerous train lines and yellow taxi cabs are just a few of the things that come to mind when I think of New York City.  All of these things are what make it up.

I used to go to Manhattan a lot when I was a small kid with my parents with my older and two younger sisters.  I remember always being afraid because my mom would always tell me if I let go of her hand, I would never see her and I never did.  I remember on Sundays we would go to Chinatown and feeling claustrophobic being surrounded by so many people and by these tall, tall, buildings.  I didn’t like it.

During this time, I used to live on a busy street, right where the 7 train line ran, on Roosevelt Ave.  And I remember hating it because my apartment was so close to the train, that when it passed by I felt the apartment rattle.  It was the summer of 1998 and I was 8 years old when I moved to what is still my current home in Elmhurst.  And I still love living here.  Elmhurst is so tranquil compared to my previous home which was always so noisy and extremely crowded.  I love it not only because it’s a nice and quiet neighborhood but also because everything is so close by such as the malls, restaurants and most of all my family.

It wasn’t until recently that I worked in the city and I still think that it’s a fast paced environment, with tons of people and a lot of stress.  At first it was a lot to take in but it was also a great way to meet all these different people every day.  It was always hectic at work but after a while I found my relaxing spot which is pretty obvious: Central Park.  Seems a bit crazy, but sometimes I would go and sit for a little while during the winter.  Surprisingly I wasn’t the only “crazy” person there.  Tourists enjoy going to Central Park even in the winter.  It was better during the summer where after work I would go to the park to just sit and relax after a long stressful day of being there.

The city is something you have to get adjusted too, that’s the way I see it.  I still love the peace and tranquility and I found that in the Central Park.  Regardless of all the noise from cars honking, people always rushing to be somewhere, hundreds of tourists all the time, I love New York City.  This is New York City, the city that never sleeps.

 

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Visual Illustration of How We Built New York

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Susan Mani

In order to find a movie for the Digital New York, I decided to find something related to “A History of New York City” class. Before taking this class I had no idea about the big things happened to Manhattan. I couldn’t believe that some parts of the downtown area were under water and how they built this amazing city on the water. I found the movie “How we built New York City” and “History of New York Documentary” which I think they both show the whole things we studied in the class during the last month, it is kind of movie that shows all the things professor thought us in the class. I really enjoyed watching these movies so I thought maybe you guys like to see everything together in a movie.

In the movie “How we built New York” it shows all the details since Dutch first came to New York to what is New York now and it shows all the details back and forth from those days to now. The most exciting part is the scene that shows if the water was still existed how was the city looked like.

 

We Built this City New York:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5t1S-LFi2c&list=FLlu2gzcXgNSyLKu_kQ9liBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxmX0yuviLI&list=FLlu2gzcXgNSyLKu_kQ9liBA&index=3

 

History of New York Documentary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ9JeX9zyP8&list=FLlu2gzcXgNSyLKu_kQ9liBA&index=2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov3U9JcGA3Y&list=FLlu2gzcXgNSyLKu_kQ9liBA&index=1

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One of My Favor Building in New York City

Posted on June 25, 2013 by peperuiznoriega

One of My Favor Building in New York City

( Rockefellers Center )

One of the most remarkable buildings in NYC which represents the American power all over the world must be the Rockefeller’s center building.  Building was made to represent the dreams of rich man who was putting all his fortune to build something that represents a symbol of his family in America. I quoted some lines from the website that will describe his crazy investment.

“He took on the enormous project as the sole financier, on a 27-year lease (with the option for three 21-year renewals for a total of 87 years) for the site from Columbia; negotiating a line of credit with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and covering ongoing expenses through the sale of oil company stock. The initial cost of acquiring the space, razing some of the existing buildings and constructing new buildings was estimated at $250,000,000 dollars.

In 1985, Columbia University sold the land beneath Rockefeller Center to the Rockefeller Group for 400 million dollars. The entire Rockefeller Center complex was purchased by Mitsubishi Estate, a real estate company of the Mitsubishi Group, in 1989, which fully bought out Rockefeller Group. In 2000, the current owner Jerry Speyer (a close friend of David Rockefeller), of Tishman Speyer Properties, L.P., together with the Lester Crown family of Chicago, bought for $1.85 billion the older 14 buildings and land from the previous syndicated owners: Goldman Sachs (which had 50 percent ownership), Gianni Agnelli, Stavros Niarchos, and David Rockefeller, who organized the syndicate in 1996 and is historically associated with the other partners.”

Rockefeller Center represents as the best example of combination or mixture of public art and architectural design having a nice center in which tourist people and business men can enjoy the facilities of Rockefeller center complex. Rockefeller complex consists in three entire blocks from 51th street to 49th street and every single is divided in two buildings. For example, at 51th street block, we have Radio City Music Hall on 6th avenue side and the International building at 5th avenue side. At 50th street side, we have the Rainbow room and NBC BROCASTING building on 6th avenue and the British Empire Building on 5th avenue. And the last block, we have the Simon Schuster building on 6th avenue and One Rockefeller plaza on 5th avenue.

Rockefeller center has many sculptures around its facility  that can catch the attention of many people: Atlas, Prometheus and News scultures.

Atlas is a bronze statue in front of Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan, New York City, across Fifth Avenue from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The sculpture depicts the Ancient Greek Titan Atlas holding the heavens. It was created by sculptor Lee Lawrie with the help of Rene Paul Chambellan, and it was installed in 1937.The sculpture is in the Art Deco style, as is the entire Rockefeller Center. Atlas in the sculpture is 15 feet tall, while the entire statue is 45 feet tall,as high as a four-story building. It weighs seven tons, and is the largest sculpture at Rockefeller Center.The North-South axis of the armillary sphere on his shoulders points towards the North Star as seen from New York City.

In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Greek: Προμηθεύς, pronounced [promɛːtʰeús]) is a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who is credited with the creation of man from clay and the theft of fire for human use, an act that enabled progress and civilization. He is known for his intelligence and as a champion of humanity.

News sculpture by Isamu Noguchi, November 17, 1904 – December 30, 1988) was a prominent Japanese American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward.[1] Known for his sculpture and public works, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces, some of which are still manufactured and sold.

Rockefeller Center is one of my favorite buildings in NYC because it has everything in one place which makes enjoyable walking around its facilites. Rockefeller center is a residential museum building because of the amount of artwork it has all over its perimeter. Not only is a great biulding, but also it is well connected with all public transportation that runs under ground of its facilities making Rockefeller the most suitable place to do business and have fun at the same time. As a result, I strongly recommend  you to go to Rockefeller Center a place where  you experience that soul of New York City in once.

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