Top of the Rock Fact Box

* John D. Rockefeller and architect Raymond Hood broke ground for the

Art Deco skyscraper 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 1931.

• The observation deck was opened to the public in 1933. Its design was

inspired by the luxury ocean liners of the era—outfitted with deck chairs, gooseneck fixtures, and air vents that looked like a ship's stacks.

• The observation deck closed to the public in 1986.

• The Top of the Rock reopens in November 2005.

• As you rise 850 feet above street level, you can view Rockefeller Center imagery from decades past as it is projected onto the elevators' glass-top ceilings.

• The building's crown, the 70th floor, is 20 feet wide and 200 feet long and offers panoramic views of New York City—the Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Hudson River.

• It will be open from 8:30 A.M. to midnight. General-admission tickets are $14.