Rockefeller Center

If Time Square is New York's crossroads, Rockefeller Center is its communal gathering place, where the entire world converges to snap pictures, skate on the ice rink, peek in on a taping of the Today show (or---with luck---NBC's 30 Rock), shop, eat, and take in the monumental Art Deco structures and public sculptures from the past century.

Totaling more than75 shops and 40 eateries (1.4 million square feet in all), the complex runs from 47th to 52nd streets between 5th and 7th avenues. Special events and hugh pieces of art dominate the central plazas in summer.

In December an enormous twinkling tree towers above the ice-skating rink, causing hugh crowds of visitors from across the country and the globe to shuffle through with necks craned and cameras flashing. This holiday tradition began in 1931, when workers clearing away the rubble for Rockefeller Center erected a 20-foot-tall balsam. It was two years into the Great Depression, and the 4,000 men employed at the site were grateful to finally be away from the unemplyment lines. The first official tree-lighting ceremony was held in 1933. Visit www.rockefellercenter.com for more information.

At the complex's center is the sunken Lower Plaza, site of the world's most famous ice-skating rink October through April ( it's a cafe in summer). Skaters swoop or stumble across the ice while crowds gather above on the Esplande to watch the spins and spills.

Hovering above, the gold-leaf statue of the fire-stealing Greek hero Prometheus---Rockefeller Center's most famous sculpture---forms the backdrop to zillions of photos. Carved into the wall behind it, a quotation from Aeschylus reads "Prometheus, teacher in every art, brought the fire that hath proved to mortals a means to mighty ends."

The Lower Plaza provides access to the marble-lined corridors underneath Rockefeller Center, which house restaurants (everything from the high-end Sea Grill to pizza parlors), a post office, andclean public restrooms---a rarity in Midtown.

Rising up on the Lower Plaza's west side is the 70-story (850-foot-tall) Art Deco GE Building 1(212)332-6868, a testament to modern urban development. Here Rockefeller commissioned and then destroyed a mural by Diego Rivera upon learning that it featured Vladimir Lenin. He replaced it with the monumental American Progress by Jose Maria Sert, still on view in the lobby, flanked by additional murals by Sert and English artist Frank Brangwyn.

While in the lobby, pick up a free "Rockefeller Center Vistor's Guide" at the information desk. Up on the 65th floor sits the now shuttered Rainbow Room, a glittering big-band ballroom from 1934 through 2009.

The GE Building also houses NBC Studios, whose news tapings, visible at street level, attract gawking crowds. For ticket information for NBC shows or the 70-minute studio tour, visit the NBC Experience Store at the building's southeast corner. 30 Rockefeller Plaza, between 5th and 6th Aves. at 49th st., Midtown West 1(212)664-7174 www.nbcstudiotour.com