This 22-acre 'city within a city' debuted at the height of the Great Depression, with developer John D Rockefeller Jr footing the $100 million price tag. Taking nine years to build, it was America's first multi-use retail, entertainment and office space – a sprawl of 19 buildings. The center was declared a National Landmark in 1987. Highlights include the Top of the Rock observation deck and NBC Studio Tours. The Rockefeller Center is also graced with the creations of 30 great artists, commissioned around the punchy theme ‘Man at the Crossroads Looks Uncertainly But Hopefully at the Future.’ Paul Manship contributed Prometheus, overlooking the sunken plaza, and Atlas, in front of the International Building. Isamu Noguchi's News sits above the entrance to the Associated Press Building, while José Maria Sert's oil American Progress awaits in the lobby of the GE Building. The latter work replaced Mexican artist Diego Rivera's original painting, rejected by the Rockefellers for containing ‘communist imagery.’ Come the festive season, Rockefeller Plaza is where you'll find New York's most famous Christmas tree. Ceremoniously lit just after Thanksgiving, it's a tradition that dates back to the 1930s, when construction workers set up a small tree on the site. In its shadow, Rink at Rockefeller Center is the city's best-known – and smallest – ice-skating rink.

Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.Rockefeller Center was named after John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who leased the space from Columbia University in 1928 and developed it from 1930. Rockefeller initially planned a syndicate to build an opera house for the Metropolitan Opera on the site, but changed his mind after the stock market crash of 1929 and the Metropolitan's continual delays to hold out for a more favorable lease, causing Rockefeller to move forward without them. Rockefeller stated "It was clear that there were only two courses open to me. One was to abandon the entire development. The other to go forward with it in the definite knowledge that I myself would have to build it and finance it alone."

Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. Rockefeller Center was named after John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who leased the space from Columbia University in 1928 and developed it from 1930. Rockefeller initially planned a syndicate to build an opera house for the Metropolitan Opera on the site, but changed his mind after the stock market crash of 1929 and the Metropolitan's continual delays to hold out for a more favorable lease, causing Rockefeller to move forward without them. Rockefeller stated "It was clear that there were only two courses open to me. One was to abandon the entire development. The other to go forward with it in the definite knowledge that I myself would have to build it and finance it alone." He took on the enormous project as the sole financier, on a 27-year lease 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 and razing some of the building and construction of new building was an estimated $250,000,000 dollars; a staggering sum in 1930.

Rockefeller Center was one of the great construction projects of the Great Depression, a complex of 14 buildings between Fifth and Sixth avenues and 48th and 51st streets built over the 1930s. It's also one of America's grandest examples of Art Deco design, from the Indiana-limestone-clad buildings themselves to its interior murals and allegorical figures in panels above the entries to the various buildings. For many travelers to New York, the center is a favorite destination even if they aren't students of architecture or urban planning. It's the home of Radio City Music Hall, where the Rockettes perform; its 70th-floor observation deck offers sweeping views of the city; and every morning tourists gather outside the windows of the NBC studios during the broadcast of The Today Show. The center also hosts temporary large-scale art installations, like Jeff Koons's enormous dancer and flower puppy in recent years, and the lighting of its Christmas tree marks the unofficial start of the holiday season. Another bucket-list experience here is taking a turn on the small sunken ice rink under the golden statue of Prometheus. Just across Fifth Avenue from Rockefeller Center is another New York landmark, St. Patrick's Cathedral, looking better than ever after a multiyear renovation that included a thorough cleaning of the Gothic building's facade. By John Newton, AFAR Contributor

The complex of Art Deco high-rise buildings located in the heart of Manhattan opened in 1939. Originally, it consisted of 14 buildings while now there are 19. The Center houses many shops and cafés and even the NBC studios. The Top of the Rock observation deck offers spectacular views of New York City. It comes into focus mainly during the Christmas period because of the annual Christmas tree lighting. This event found its way even into films. Here, in front of the Christmas tree, Kevin is reunited with his mother in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Another Christmas-related New York tradition is ice-skating at the Rink at Rockefeller Center. Due to the popularity of the event, there are always long queues. However, you can reserve your tickets online in advance.