Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st Streets, facing Fifth Avenue, in New York City. Commissioned by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan. The 14 original Art Deco buildings span the area between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, split by a large sunken square and a private street called Rockefeller Plaza. Five International Style buildings, built later, are located on the west side of Sixth Avenue and at the north end of Rockefeller Plaza. In 1928, the site's then-owner, Columbia University, leased the land
Avery Rockefeller Avery Rockefeller Avery Rockefeller (September 11, 1903 – May 22, 1986) was an American investment banker and conservationist who was a member of the Rockefeller family. Rockefeller was born on September 11, 1903 to Percy Avery Rockefeller and Isabel Goodrich Stillman. His paternal grandparents were William Avery Rockefeller Jr. and Almira Geraldine Goodsell. His maternal grandfather was James Jewett Stillman (1850–1918), the chairman of the board of directors of the National City Bank. His father's brother, William Goodsell Rockefeller (1870–1922), married his mother's sister, Elsie Stillman (1872–1935). He attended Yale University, graduating in 1926. In 1928, Rockefeller joined the storied