GE Building The GE Building at Rockefeller Center General information Status Complete Type Offices and television studios (NBC) Location 30 Rockefeller Center Midtown Manhattan Manhattan New York City New York 10112 United States1 Coordinates 404532N 735844W / 40.759N 73.979W / 40.759; -73.979Coordinates: 404532N 735844W / 40.759N 73.979W / 40.759; -73.979 Completed 1933 Height Roof 850 ft (260 m) Technical details Floor count 70 Design and construction Owner NBC Architect Associated Architects References 2

The GE Building is an Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the midtown Manhattan section of New York City. Known as the RCA Building until 1988 it is most famous for housing the headquarters of the television network NBC. At 850 feet (259 m) tall the 70-story building is the 10th tallest building in New York City and the 33rd tallest in the United States. Its address is 30 Rockefeller Plaza which has led to its nickname "30 Rock". Contents 1 History 2 NBC Studios 2.1 NBC Studio productions 3 Observation deck 4 See also 5 Further reading 6 References 7 External links History Rockefeller Center with (then) RCA Building December 1933

The building was completed in 1933 as part of the Rockefeller Center. The noted Art Deco architect Raymond Hood led a team of Rockefeller architects. It was named the RCA Building for its main tenant the Radio Corporation of America formed in 1919 by General Electric. It was the first building constructed with the elevators grouped in the central core. During construction photographer Charles Clyde Ebbets took the famous photograph Lunchtime atop a Skyscraper. National Broadcasting Company also owned by General Electric leased space in the building.

The office of the Rockefeller family occupied Room 5600 on the 56th floor. This space is now occupied by Rockefeller Family & Associates spanning between the 54th floor and the 56th floor of the building. In 1985 the building acquired official landmark status. The RCA Building was renamed as the GE Building in 1988 two years after General Electric re-acquired the RCA Corporation. Facade of the GE Building

The GE Building is one of the most famous and recognized skyscrapers in New York. The frieze located above the main entrance was executed by Lee Lawrie and depicts "Wisdom"3 along with a slogan that reads "Wisdom and Knowledge shall be the stability of thy times" from Isaiah 33:6 (KJV). The vertical detailing of the building's austere Art Deco facade is integrated with a slim functionally expressive form. The present exterior is recognized for the large GE letters at the building's top. The famous marquee above the building's entrance is seen on numerous television shows such as 30 Rock and Seinfeld. Unlike most other tall Art Deco buildings constructed in the 1930s the GE Building has no spire on its roof.

Some of the building's nicknames include The Slab and 30 Rock. The latter is also the title of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock which follows the cast and crew of a fictional television show filmed inside the building. The television show uses the building for exterior shots while interior shots are filmed at Silvercup Studios in Queens.

KWO35 the NOAA Weather Radio station for the majority of the Tri-State area transmits from atop the GE Building at 162.55 MHz.

Below the building is a shopping concourse connected to the lobby via an escalator. The open lobby's rich materials and reduced black and beige ornamental scheme is enhanced by dramatic lighting. Granite covers the building base to a height of 4 feet (1.2 m) and the shaft has a refined facade of Indiana Limestone with aluminum spandrel panels.

The top floor of the GE Building is an event room and restaurant named the Rainbow Room which was recently revamped and reopened to the public with new operators. The famous photograph Lunchtime atop a Skyscraper was taken there when the building was under construction in 1932. The Rainbow Room announced on January 4 2009 that it would no longer operate as a restaurant due to the economic downturn. NBC Studios The NBC Studios entrance to the GE Building

The building is well known for housing the headquarters of NBC and the New York facilities of NBC Studios. In 1996 NBC bought the 1600000 square feet (149000 m2) of space it had leased since 1933. The purchase allowed the company to introduce new technologies and renovate the space; it also gave them options to renew the lease on the Today Show studios broadcast from a nearby building 10 Rockefeller Plaza.4 NBC owns floors 1-30 & 50-59. The office of Jack Welch former chairman and CEO of General Electric is located on the 51st floor of the GE Building. The building's studios include Studio 8H the home of Saturday Night Live. Studio 8H was once the largest radio studio in the world originally home to the NBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini. It was converted into a television studio in 1950. The Tonight Show was also taped at the GE Building in Studio 6-B from the early Jack Paar years until 1972 when the show moved to Burbank California. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon now occupies the former Tonight Show space. During its run Rosie O'Donnell broadcast her syndicated talk show from the building. NBC Studio productions Studio Production Notes Floor 1A The Today Show Dateline NBC The network's daily morning program is produced at a ground-level windowed studio across 49th Street from the GE Building since the mid-1990s at 10 Rockefeller Plaza; it was previously broadcast from inside the skyscraper. Studio 1A is a multilevel studio currently used for multiple shows including the studio segments of Dateline NBC. Countdown was used 2nd floor of 1A. The studio was also used by WNBC's Live at Five and MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. WNBC which used temporarily in October 1996 due to a fire in 6B5 and NBC Nightly News for a short period during decontamination of the broadcast's facilities and offices in October 2001 due to the 2001 anthrax attacks. Ground floor 2K MSNBC Secondary HD Control Room Debuted October 22 2007 and is the home to MSNBC programs. An MSNBC/NBC News Newsroom connects control room 2K and studio floor 3A. 2nd floor 3A MSNBC main studios and headquarters Debuted October 22 2007 and is the home to many MSNBC programs including the main news desk where MSNBC Live and other MSNBC programs are shot. An MSNBC/NBC News Newsroom connects Studio 3A and Studio 3C. Former home of "NBC Nightly News". 3rd floor 3B MSNBC Former home of the Today Show Dateline NBC and NBC Nightly News. Mainly used for coverage of the 2008 presidential election 3rd floor 3C NBC Nightly News NBC Nightly News Weekend Edition The network's flagship news program. Shares newsroom with Studio 3A. Debuted on October 22 2007 after renovations. Nightly News used the studio previously though on a different set. 3rd floor 3K Early Today/The Ed Show/The Last Word with Lawrence O' Donnell Former home of NBC Nightly News NBC Sports The Today Show and The Howdy Doody Show6 green screen room for coverage of 2008 presidential election result program for NBC News/MSNBC.7 3rd floor 5HN NBC News Emergency "Flash" Studio (Demolished) A small studio used for breaking news bulletins during the Huntley-Brinkley Era. Most notably network coverage regarding the John F. Kennedy assassination originated from this studio. 5th floor 6A The Dr. Oz Show A former home of Late Night with David Letterman Late Night with Conan O'Brien and NBC Radio network programs from 1933 to the 1950s. 6th floor 6B Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Howdy Doody (19471960). Also the original home of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar and NBC Nightly News. Former home for the news studio for flagship station WNBC. 6th floor 6C NBC Digital Studios The current home of such web based shows as "The Untitled News Comedy Show" "Starstruck" and "A Big Life with Sissy Biggers". Was previously home to a small set for WNBC as well as WNBC's Master control. 8 6th floor 6E Global Media Insert Studios 1 Former home of Early Today and MSNBC secondly studio (Ed Show home and Breaking News coverage) called as "Newsnooks". This space was previously a portion of WNBC's Master Control. 6th floor 7E WNBC News/NY Nonstop The current home of the news studio for WNBC-TV the network's flagship station. 7th floor 8G Football Night in America/NBC SportsDesk Former home of The Phil Donahue Show The Rosie O'Donnell Show The Caroline Rhea Show and The Jane Pauley Show as well as the original Jeopardy! from 1964 to 1975. NBC Nightly News used this studio during the 2007 renovations of NBC News headquarters except on some Sunday evenings where due to football programming the news was broadcast from Studio 1A. This studio has also been used for Decision 2008 and Decision 2010 election night coverage. 8th floor 8H Saturday Night Live Former home of Last Call with Carson Daly Former home of Later with Bob Costas Former home of the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini Used for offsite coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics Used for the Live Show episode of 30 Rock 8th floor Exterior 30 Rock Exteriors of the building and scenes which are filmed on location are filmed outside GE Building as well as various other locations at Rockefeller Plaza. Interiors are filmed at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City Queens. Ground The building is also the headquarters for Bravo Chiller MSNBC Oxygen Syfy Sleuth Universal HD and USA Network. CNBC and CNBC World are headquartered in Englewood Cliffs New Jersey. Observation deck This section includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (June 2010) The observation deck atop the skyscraper dubbed "Top of the Rock" reopened to the public on November 1 2005 after undergoing a $75 million renovation. It had been closed since 1986 to accommodate the renovation of the Rainbow Room. The deck which is built to resemble the deck of an ocean liner offers sightseers a bird's eye view of the city competing with the 86th floor observatory of the Empire State Building.9 It is often considered the best panoramic city view10 if only because it offers a view of the aforementioned Empire State Building which cannot be seen from its own observation deck.11 The "Top of the Rock" had also been co-opted for NBC's Sunday Night Football during the 200607 season with the top player/MVP in that night's game according to John Madden and Al Michaels receiving the honor of being that night's "Rock Star" in the form of a glass trophy display on the observation deck; this was a replacement for the Horse Trailer Award formerly awarded on ABC's Monday Night Football. The Horse Trailer honor was restored for the 200708 season. View of New York City from the "Top of the Rock" observation deck of the GE building See also A composite of the GE Building as seen from Fifth Avenue at three different times Architecture of New York City Original General Electric Building (1931 built as the RCA Victor Building) List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan List of tallest buildings in New York City List of tallest buildings in the United States Rainbow Room a restaurant on the 65th floor of the GE building Further reading Harr John Ensor; Johnson Peter J. (1988). The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.  Okrent Daniel (2003). Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center. New York: Viking Press.  Roussel Christine (2006). The Art of Rockefeller Center. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-06082-9.  References Source: USPS. GE Building at Emporis stock photo of "Wisdom" Deutsch Claudia H. (May 4 1996). "NBC Will Buy Rockefeller Center Space". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.htmlres9C01E3DE1439F937A35756C0A960958260&sec&spon&pagewantedall. Retrieved 29 March 2008.  http://www.wnbc.com/station/1169359/detail.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/557867573/ NewscastStudio Blog Blog Archive Cracking the case: MSNBC green screen A blog about television news set design news music news graphics package design and television ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/557975983/in/set-72157600550234281 "Top of the Rock << Wired New York". http://wirednewyork.com/guide/top-of-the-rock/. Retrieved 2010-07-16.  "Top of the Rock Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center - Tickets and Discounts for Tours Attractions and Museums". http://www.trustedtours.com/store/Top-of-the-Rock-Observation-Deck-at-Rockefeller-Center-C386.aspx. Retrieved 2010-07-16.  "Empire State Building vs Top of the Rock". http://www.bug.co.uk/blog/2010/02/05/empire-state-building-vs-top-of-the-rock/. Retrieved 2010-07-16.  External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: GE Building Top Of The Rock Official "Top Of The Rock" page in-Arch.net: The RCA/GE Building Top Of The Rock Photo Gallery About.com NYC Insider Guide Insider tips and secrets about Top of the Rock Top of the Rock Panorama v d eU.S. National Register of Historic Places in New York Lists by county Albany  Allegany  Bronx  Broome  Cattaraugus  Cayuga  Chautauqua  Chemung  Chenango  Clinton  Columbia  Cortland  Delaware  Dutchess  Erie  Essex  Franklin  Fulton  Genesee  Greene  Hamilton  Herkimer  Jefferson  Kings (Brooklyn)  Lewis  Livingston  Madison  Monroe  Montgomery  Nassau  New York (Manhattan)  Niagara  Oneida  Onondaga  Ontario  Orange  Orleans  Oswego  Otsego  Putnam  Queens  Rensselaer  Richmond (Staten Island)  Rockland  Saratoga  Schenectady  Schoharie  Schuyler  Seneca  St. Lawrence  Steuben  Suffolk  Sullivan  Tioga  Tompkins  Ulster  Warren  Washington  Wayne  Westchester  Wyoming  Yates Lists by city Albany  Buffalo  New Rochelle  New York City (Bronx  Brooklyn  Queens  Staten Island  Manhattan: Below 14th St.  14th59th St.  59th110th St.  Above 110th St.  Minor islands)  Peekskill  Poughkeepsie  Rhinebeck  Rochester  Syracuse  Yonkers Other lists Bridges  National Historic Landmarks Keeper of the Register  History of the National Register of Historic Places  Property types  Historic district  Contributing property v d eGeneral Electric Subsidiaries and divisions Current GE Capital (GE Capital Bank  GE Capital Aviation Services  GE Commercial Finance  GE Energy Financial Services  GE Money  GE Rail Services  GE Rail Services (Europe)  Trailer Fleet Services)  GE Technology Infrastructure (GE Aviation  GE Aviation Systems  GE Healthcare  GE Transportation)  GE Energy (GE Digital Energy  GE Jenbacher  GE Measurement & Control Solutions  GE Oil & Gas  GE Power & Water  GE Wind Energy)  GE Home & Business Solutions (GE Consumer & Industrial  GE Intelligent Platforms)  GE Global Research Former and defunct Australian Guarantee Corporation1  Canadian General Electric1  Electric Bond and Share Company2  GE Americom2  GE Betz1  GE Capital IT Solutions2  GECIS2  GE Equipment Services1  GE Industrial1  GE Infrastructure1  GEIS2  Genesis Lease2  GE Security2  Genworth Financial2  Montgomery Ward2  Tungsram1  Whatman1 Joint ventures and shareholdings CFM International (50%)  Engine Alliance (50%)  GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (60%)  GE Honda Aero Engines (50%)  NBCUniversal LLC (49%)  Penske Truck Leasing  TBS GB  TMEIC GE Products services and brands Aircraft engines  GEnie  Locomotives  Mazda  Reciprocating engines  Trivection oven  Tungsram People Founders Thomas Edison  Edwin J. Houston  Elihu Thomson Current directors James Cash Jr.  Ann Fudge  Claudio Gonzalez  Susan Hockfield  Jeffrey Immelt  Andrea Jung  Alan Lafley  Robert Lane  Ralph Larsen  Rochelle Lazarus  Sam Nunn  Roger Penske  Robert Swieringa  Douglas A. Warner III  Bob Wright Places and facilities GE Building  General Electric Building  General Electric Realty Plot  General Electric Research Laboratory  John F. Welch Technology Centre  Nela Park Other Edison Engineering Development Program  GE Inspira  GE True  General Electric Theater 1Now integrated into other GE divisions or business groupings 2Sold Annual revenue  USD 157 billion (2009)    Employees  304000 (2009)    Stock symbol  NYSE: GE    Website  ge.com v d e30 Rock Episodes Season 1  Season 2  Season 3  Season 4  Season 5 Characters Liz Lemon  Jack Donaghy  Tracy Jordan  Jenna Maroney  Kenneth Parcell  Pete Hornberger  Frank Rossitano  Cerie  Josh Girard  Dr. Leo Spaceman  J. D. Lutz  Toofer Spurlock  Danny Baker Related Tina Fey  Cast list  Awards  Quotes  GE Building  Soundtrack Wikipedia books Seasons of 30 Rock  Season 1  Season 2  Season 3  Season 4