<< Back
Landmarks
75 Rockefeller Plaza – Application for new windows on the 32nd floor on the north, east, and west elevations and new terrazzo to be installed at the 52nd Street building entry
WHEREAS, 75 Rockefeller Plaza is part of Landmarked Rockefeller Center, an Art-Deco style commercial, office and entertainment complex of 19 commercial buildings, covering 22 acres between West 48th and 51st Streets built by the Rockefeller Family; and
WHEREAS, 75 Rockefeller Plaza was designed by Robert Carson and Earl Lundin with Wallace K. Harrison as consulting architect, built in 1946 as headquarters for Standard Oil Company and originally named as the Esso Building; and
WHEREAS, This 33 story building was constructed some 15 years after the rest of the complex, primarily due to the ties between the Rockefeller Family and Standard Oil, on a site that at one time was intended to be a continuation of Rockefeller Plaza northward; and
WHEREAS, The building, located at the northerly end of Rockefeller Plaza, has 100 ft. frontage on West 51st Street and 275 ft. frontage on West 52nd Street; and
WHEREAS, The building had been net leased to Time Warner as its headquarters until 2014 and has since been vacated, giving its new owners the opportunity to repair, upgrade and modernize various elements of the building; and
WHEREAS, In June 2013, Community Board Five recommended approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for modifications to the ground-floor infill on West 51st and 52nd Street elevations, installation of new planters, paving, and a railing on the 2nd floor set-back terraces above the West 51st and 52nd Street elevations; and
WHEREAS, The scope of work under the current application includes new windows on the 32nd floor on the north, east, and west elevations and new terrazzo to be installed at the 52nd Street building entry; and
WHEREAS, The new windows are being added due to conversion of mechanical space on the 32nd floor to office space and will involve creating openings in the original aluminum spandrel panels; and
WHEREAS, The new windows will match the historic profile, dimensions and finishes of the existing windows on the building, except that aluminum will be used in place of steel and insulated glass will be used (as is being done throughout the entire Rockefeller Center complex); and
WHEREAS, The new windows will complete the row of windows on the 32nd floor, which currently exist on the entire south elevation and part of the east and west elevations and will enhance the symmetry of the façade; and
WHEREAS, The new white terrazzo (more specifically, white terrazzo with white matrix) to be installed at the 52nd Street building entry will replace the existing pink terrazzo (more specifically, white terrazzo with pink matrix) in order to match the white terrazzo currently being installed throughout the building lobby; and
WHEREAS, Although the existing terrazzo panels are 3 ft. 8 in. by 3 ft. 8 in., the new terrazzo panels will 6 ft. 8 in. by 3 ft. 8 in. to better match the panel joints of the building; and
WHEREAS, There is no Rockefeller Center-wide scheme that dictates terrazzo color, and the proposed white terrazzo falls within the existing color palate of the Center and will be an improvement over the existing deteriorated terrazzo; and
WHEREAS, The proposed modifications are appropriate and respectful of the historic conditions of the building and the Rockefeller Center complex; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of new windows on the 32nd floor on the north, east, and west elevations and new terrazzo to be installed at the 52nd Street building entry.