British Empire Building
The British Empire Building, also known by its address 620 Fifth Avenue, is a commercial building at Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Completed in 1933, the six-story structure was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood, Rockefeller Center's lead architect. The British Empire Building, along with the nearly identical La Maison Francaise to the south and the high-rise International Building to the north, comprise a group of retail-and-office structures known as the International Complex. La Maison Francaise and the British Empire Building are separated by Channel Gardens, a planted pedestrian esplanade running west to the complex's Lower Plaza.
The facade is made of limestone, with a main entrance along Fifth Avenue and secondary entrances on 50th Street and Channel Gardens. The top of the British Empire Building contains setbacks, a rooftop garden, and a partial seventh-story penthouse. The building's entrances contain ornate decorations by Lee Lawrie and Carl Paul Jennewein, while the windows include decorations by Rene Paul Chambellan. The entire Rockefeller Center complex is a New York City designated landmark and a National Historic Landmark.
La Maison Francaise and the British Empire Building were developed as part of the construction of Rockefeller Center after a proposal for a single building on the site was scrapped. After the British government signed a lease for the building in January 1932, work began the next month with a groundbreaking ceremony in July 1932. The building was completed in 1933 and initially mainly hosted British companies. Over the years, the building has contained a variety of tenants, including stores and travel companies.
Site
The British Empire Building is part of the Rockefeller Center complex in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Located at 620 Fifth Avenue, it is part of Rockefeller Center's International Complex. The British Empire Building's architectural twin La Maison Francaise is directly to the south, and the International Building is directly to the north. The rectangular land lot is shared with La Maison Francaise and is bounded by Rockefeller Plaza to the west, 50th Street to the north, Fifth Avenue to the east, and 49th Street to the south. It covers and has a frontage of on Fifth Avenue and on the streets.The Channel Gardens, a, planted pedestrian esplanade, separates the British Empire Building and La Maison Francaise. It is named after the English Channel, the waterway separating Britain and France. The plaza slopes down toward the Lower Plaza to the west. The Lower Plaza is a below-grade courtyard containing Paul Manship's Prometheus sculpture and a seasonal ice rink. Architectural critic Paul Goldberger of The New York Times described the British Empire Building, Channel Gardens, and La Maison Francaise as "leading to a central focus", namely the Lower Plaza.
The British Empire Building is in the eastern section of the Rockefeller Center complex. Within Rockefeller Center, the building faces 1 Rockefeller Plaza to the south, 10 Rockefeller Plaza to the southwest, 30 Rockefeller Plaza to the west, 50 Rockefeller Plaza to the northwest, and the British Empire Building and International Building to the north. The building is also near St. Patrick's Cathedral to the northeast, the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store to the east, 597 Fifth Avenue to the southeast, and 608 Fifth Avenue and 600 Fifth Avenue to the south. The site was previously part of the campus of Columbia University, which retained ownership of most of the land well after the complex was built.
Architecture
The British Empire Building is a six-story limestone building, with setbacks to the north and south above the fifth story. The building was designed by the Associated Architects of Rockefeller Center, composed of the firms of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray; Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux; and Reinhard & Hofmeister. The Associated Architects designed all of Rockefeller Center's buildings in the Art Deco style.According to The New York Times, the British Empire Building measures tall to the top of its sixth story. The edifice measures on Fifth Avenue and on 50th Street. There is a -story penthouse above the west half of the sixth story and a roof garden above the eastern half of the sixth story. The seventh-story penthouse gives the building a more imposing massing along the Lower Plaza than along Fifth Avenue. The masses of the British Empire Building and La Maison Francaise complement that of 623 Fifth Avenue to the east and 30 Rockefeller Plaza to the west.
Facade
The entire facade is made of limestone. The ground floor of the British Empire Building includes storefronts and display windows on all four elevations. The building's storefronts were originally assigned address numbers 620A to 620G on Fifth Avenue. The British Empire Building contains a cornerstone at its southeast corner, with inscriptions. Above the ground floor is a cornice with a bead and reel molding. The second through seventh floors have steel sash windows with slightly recessed limestone spandrels between the windows on each story. The windows are separated by flat vertical piers with ribbon moldings at their capitals. Three flagpoles hang from the piers on Fifth Avenue. The setbacks are also topped by ribbon moldings. There are also cornices above the setbacks, which were intended to draw viewers' attention toward 30 Rockefeller Plaza.Hartley Burr Alexander, a mythology and symbology professor who oversaw Rockefeller Center's art program, led the installation of artwork throughout the complex. Rockefeller Center's international complex was decorated to an international theme, with motifs representing the arts, peace, and commerce. The British Empire Building's artwork was themed to "symbols of a new day". The building's art was designed by American artists. This contrasted with La Maison Francaise and the International Building's Palazzo d'Italia wing, which were decorated by artists from the buildings' respective home countries of France and Italy. As Britain did not have a good economy at the time of the building's construction, most of the artwork in the building focused on the historical empire rather than its artistic contribution.
Fifth Avenue
sculpted nine gold-leaf figures on three vertical panels above the entrance, signifying commerce and industry in different parts of the British Empire. They represent the major industries and the products traded within the empire: salt, coal, tobacco, wheat, fish, wool, cotton, and sugar. Some of the figures also serve as personifications of countries in the Commonwealth of Nations. All figures except the central one are labeled with their respective industry. A radial sun beneath the center figures symbolizes the global empire on which "the sun never sets".Above these panels, Jennewein also sculpted a cartouche that depicts the British coat of arms. The coat of arms is divided into quadrants with gold-colored motifs. The top left and bottom right quadrants have three passant guardant lions on a red background, signifying England. The top right quadrant shows a rampant lion on a red background, representing Scotland. The bottom left quadrant depicts a harp on a green background, standing for Ireland. Around the coat of arms is a ribbon with the gilded motto of the British chivalric Order of the Garter: "Honi soit qui mal y pense". A lion with a crown is to the left of the coat of arms, while a unicorn is to the right; they represent England and Scotland respectively. Additional motifs of the British Isles are present below the animals. The bottom of the bas relief is inscribed with the motto of the British Royalty: "Dieu et mon droit".
Rene Chambellan created four bas-reliefs above the sixth-story windows. They depict the coats of arms of Wales, England, Scotland, and Ireland from left to right. The Welsh panel depicts plumes above a Welsh Dragon, while the English panel depicts a lion and a Tudor rose. The Scottish panel is a unicorn with a thistle, while the Irish panel contains a stag, a harp, and a trefoil shamrock. Early plans called for the Fifth Avenue elevation to be capped by a limestone frieze and statues, but these were greatly simplified in the final plans.
Other elevations
The west elevation rises seven stories and includes display windows, but no doors, at ground level. West of the building, stairs descend from the sidewalk to the Lower Plaza. As a result, the west elevation's left display window is smaller than the other display windows on that elevation. The west elevation does not itself set back, but the fifth- and seventh-story setbacks of the north and south elevations are visible. The west elevation is divided by four piers, each with a bronze hood for illumination. The leftmost pier contains a small inscription with the text "Rockefeller Center".The north and south elevations are similar to each other and include ground-level storefronts and display windows. On the ground story of both elevations, there are four storefronts or display windows on either side of a secondary entrance. On the secondary entrances, Lee Lawrie placed decorations signifying symbols of the empire's power. The entrances themselves are recessed and include revolving doors. The western eight bays of each elevation rise to the seventh story, with limestone lattice spandrels and an additional setback above six of these bays. There is a cornerstone with an inscription at the southeast corner of the building.
The northern entrance at 10 West 50th Street is simple in design. It contains three gilded lions in a passant-gardant posture, which are carved into the limestone block above the entrance. Beneath the lions is a lintel with gray-and-gold background and red Tudor roses. The southern entrance on Channel Gardens is topped by a gilded carving of Mercury, flying over a set of blue-green waves. Mercury is depicted carrying a caduceus, with a fan-shaped sun above him. Below Mercury is a lintel with dark-blue rhombuses and golden triangles. Both entrances' decorations were made in intaglio, making them flush with the facade.