Photo Credit: Roving Rube. Viewpoint: Rockefeller Plaza, between 49th and 50th St., west of 5th Ave.; 2/8/02 10:39 PM.

Notes (Roving Rube): The way the Rube heard it from his tour guides is:

When Rockefeller Center first opened, its sunken central plaza was supposed to be a busy commuter/tourist hub ringed with retail shops, which would also lure people in the large shopping mall beyond the doors at rear of this picture, on their way to catch the 6th Avenue subway at the other end of the complex.

But the subways were not completed in time, the entrances (here and above) were not inviting enough for people to know they were allowed or wanted to go inside, and people just don't like going into sunken plazas without a good reason, because then they just have to climb out again. The space was shunned.

Someone got the idea of putting in a roller rink, and this proved very popular, but unfortunately roller skating attracted many of the young toughs from the neighborhood, and there were too many fist fights.

Then SOMEBODY -- and let's hope he was made employee of the month for this -- suggested trying ice skating instead. Ice skating proved to bring out a better side of people.

"...While people will not use a sunken plaza, they will stand at its railings and look down into it, provided there is something worth looking at. The skaters provide colorful, animated theater that people just love to watch." (The Architectural Guidebook to New York City, by Francis Morrone)