75 Rockefeller Plaza is a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

on the north side of 51st Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, originally built as a northern extension of

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

History

In July 1944, the Rockefellers began planning a new 16-story tower to house the Standard Oil Company (Esso), which had outgrown its lease at the nearby

30 Rockefeller Plaza 30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially the Comcast Building; formerly RCA Building and GE Building) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. Completed in 1933 ...

.Landmark Designation
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, 1985. The structure was completed in 1947 in the early Modernist style. It was originally known as the ''Esso Building''. At completion, the building was the tallest completely air-conditioned building in New York City and the first in Rockefeller Center. The building also housed Schrafft's Restaurant, which had a capacity of 1,283 people, making it the largest restaurant in the world at the time. Standard Oil's successor,

Exxon Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the largest direct successor of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the modern company was form ...

, moved to the newly built

1251 Avenue of the Americas 1251 Avenue of the Americas (formerly known as the Exxon Building) is a skyscraper on Sixth Avenue (also known as Avenue of the Americas), between 49th and 50th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is owned by Mits ...

in 1971. In 1973, the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems in the building were replaced, along with some upgrades to the electrical systems. After these renovations,

Warner Communications Warner Media, LLC (doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warner ...

(later

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...

) leased all of Exxon's former space, which led to the building becoming known as the ''Warner Communications Building''. Warner initially occupied only of space and subleased the rest to tenants including the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

Thomson-CSF Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market. Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Hous ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

, and

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

. In December 1996, a fire at the

TGI Fridays TGI Fridays Franchisor, LLC, doing business as TGI Fridays, is an American casual dining List of restaurant chains, restaurant chain focusing primarily on American cuisine. The restaurant's name stands for "Thank God It's Friday". TGI Fridays op ...

in the basement of the building led to a minor explosion in a top-floor equipment room, causing the building to be evacuated. In 2012, Time Warner indicated that they would not be renewing their space in the building due to their move to

Time Warner Center Deutsche Bank Center (also known as One Columbus Circle and formerly Time Warner Center) is a mixed-use building on Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building occupies the western side of Columbus Circle and strad ...

, which would leave the building virtually empty in 2014. After Time Warner vacated the space, Rockefeller Center's owners brought in

RXR Realty RXR Realty is a vertically integrated real estate and infrastructure owner, investor, operator, and developer headquartered in New York City. The firm’s portfolio of commercial, residential, multifamily, infrastructure, and logistics projects i ...

by a $500 million, 99-year

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

to manage the building's office space. As part of the deal, RXR would spend $250 million to renovate the building in a plan designed by

Kohn Pedersen Fox Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architectural firm based in New York City that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services. They engineer different projects including civic and cultural spaces, com ...

. The renovation included a new lobby, replacement of the elevator cabs, new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems, and a complete façade restoration. Following the renovation, RXR secured Merrill Lynch Wealth Management as the anchor tenant in June 2016 with a lease. The American Girl Store also signed a 2-story, lease to relocate its flagship store from nearby Fifth Avenue. In August 2017, Austrian bank

Erste Group Erste Group Bank AG (shortened version Erste Group) is an Austrian financial service provider. It is one of the largest financial service providers in Central and Eastern Europe serving more than 16 million clients in over 2,000 branches in seven ...

signed a lease in the building for their New York outpost. In October 2018, co-working startup Convene announced plans to open a , invite-only "Club 75" on the 32nd floor with a library, dining space, lounge, and event space.

References

External links

* {{Midtown North, Manhattan Rockefeller Center Art Deco architecture in Manhattan Art Deco skyscrapers Skyscraper office buildings in Manhattan Office buildings completed in 1947 1940s architecture in the United States Carson and Lundin buildings Modernist architecture in New York City 1947 establishments in New York City