The "Rockefeller Center Observation Deck" opened to the public in 1933, and was designed after the grand ocean liners of the day. The 70th floor was even fitted with deck chairs and fixtures to look like a ship's deck.
The Rockefeller Center was built in the Depression, and provided much-needed jobs; the entrance area has construction photos that evoke the times.
Rockefeller Center was built in the art deco style, and has been a National Historic Landmark since 1988. The Observation Deck was closed for twenty years, before re-opening in 2005 as "Top of the Rock".
--continue to Entrance to Top of the Rock on West 50th St.
