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Rockefeller Center

A black and white photograph of a portion of the unfinished building showing exposed steel beams. In the foreground are five beams that meet and are held together with rivets. More of the steel grid of the structure is visible in the background. Wooden planks connect areas of the construction site. Bright sunlight shines through and bleeds around the edges of the beams. A low row of older buildings is barely visible in the background.

Berenice Abbott, 1898–1991
Foundations of Rockefeller Center, New York, 1932, printed 1982
Gelatin silver print
23" × 18¼"
RISD Museum

Even before construction began, Rockefeller center captured the attention of the public. It was the largest private real estate project ever undertaken, made even more remarkable by the fact that the bulk of the design and construction occurred during the 1930s, in the throes of the Great Depression.

Progress was documented by well-known photographers such as Samuel Gottscho and Berenice Abbott. Once construction was completed, Rockefeller Center was—and remains today—a major destination for tourists.