Art Deco at 30 Rock in the Empire State

Well New York does call itself the Empire State.

This is the Art Deco entrance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza (aka 30 Rock), which is the GE Building. This is the HQ of NBC and houses the network's New York studios - and was where the brilliant hit comedy 30 Rock was set.

The construction of the 14 buildings of the original Rockefeller Center was undertaken by John D Rockefeller as a response to the Depression. The construction project is claimed to have been the largest private building project ever undertaken, and employed over 40,000 people.

The architect was Raymond Hood and the buildings are decorated with Art Deco artworks. Rockefeller wanted Matisse and Picasso, but could not get them. So he asked Diego Rivera to paint a 99 square metres fresco on the lobby of the RCA (now GE Building). Rivera snuck in scenes of Moscow May Day and Lenin, which lead to a fierce dispute and the eventual destruction of the mural.

Opposite 30 Rock across the ice-rink is a plaque with the list of principles in which John D Rockefeller Jr believed:

"I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.

I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master.

I believe in the Dignity of labour, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.

I believe that thrift is essential to well ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs.

I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order.

I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man's word should be as good as his bond; that character not wealth or power or position - is of supreme worth.

I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free.

I believe in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individuals highest fulfilment, greatest happiness, and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His Will.

I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might."