This summer, Rockefeller Center presents a number of exclusive outdoor dining, art, and retail experiences, as well as newly added seating throughout Rockefeller Plaza. Corresponding to New York City’s phased reopening, all of Rockefeller Center’s summer activations are outdoors and do not require tickets, ensuring New Yorkers can enjoy festive seasonal offerings while maintaining social distancing guidelines.
“Rockefeller Center is known for its beloved public spaces, especially its plazas and gardens, and we are thrilled to make them available this summer to our tenants and to New Yorkers in new and unexpected ways. Even while adapting to these changing times in our City, Rockefeller Center can continue to be a favorite destination for culture, commerce, and community,” said EB Kelly, Tishman Speyer Managing Director who oversees Rockefeller Center. “Along with our incredible partners, we have created a summer program consisting of multiple public art installations, pop-up food and retail options, and of course those special ‘surprise and delight’ moments that can only occur at Rockefeller Center. Where else could you enjoy a delicious bite under the watchful eye of a masked Prometheus?”
Summer Dining
Summer at The Rink:
Filled with oversized tables and greenery, Summer at The Rink includes new pop-up dining options featuring decadent summer bites, grab-and-go meals, seasonal desserts, and refreshing specialty drinks. Restaurants include:
- Rainbow Room: a selection of gourmet salads, wraps, sandwiches, bowls, desserts, and nonalcoholic beverages (Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on The Rink).
- Alidoro: a variety of hot and cold sandwiches and salads (Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on The Rink.)
- Makina Cafe Truck: a sampling of Ethiopian and Eritrean lunch options (Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m. – 6 :00 p.m. in the North Plaza)
- Other Half: the Brooklyn-based brewery offers a selection of its 100+ beers (Thursday-Saturday, 12:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. on the South Esplanade).
Joining the new additions with outdoor offerings are:
- City Winery: a variety of reds, whites, and rosés, beers from Montauk Brewing Company, and a Mediterranean-inspired menu of charcuterie, cheeses, and burrata (seven days a week, 1:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the North Plaza)
- Ben & Jerry’s: a selection of popular ice cream favorites (seven days a week, 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. on The Rink)
- Limani: an assortment of Greek-Mediterranean offerings from the restaurant’s seafood-focused menu (Monday-Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., and Sunday, 3:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the North Plaza)
- Del Frisco’s Grille:the chophouse offers a selection of steak, seafood, sandwiches, and cocktails from its main menu (seven days a week, 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the North Plaza).
Public Art
Continuing its longstanding tradition of displaying free, public art, Rockefeller Center presents three major installations this summer:
Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center
Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center returns for its second iteration as a special exhibition of site-specific works by renowned international artists. Usually held in the spring as part of the wider programming of Frieze New York, Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center was postponed and readapted this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Presented in partnership with Tishman Speyer, the major public art initiative places significant sculptural works by leading artists in open, public locations throughout Rockefeller Plaza.
Curated by Brett Littman, the second edition is inspired by the site’s and the city’s natural materials of earth, rock, and plants, and by the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the original date when Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center was scheduled to debut. Artists Ghada Amer, Beatriz Cortez, Andy Goldsworthy, Lena Henke, Camille Henrot and Thaddeus Mosley have responded to that inspiration, with Amer, Cortez, Goldsworthy, Henke, and Mosley creating major new site-specific works.
Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center will be on display from September 1 – October 2, 2020.
The Flag Project
The Flag Project is a public art initiative that gave New Yorkers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to design the iconic flags that will be flown from all 193 flagpoles surrounding the Rink at Rockefeller Center. The public was invited to submit their own artworks celebrating New York City – its diverse culture, vibrant energy, strength, and resiliency. The winning submissions have been produced as 8-foot by 5-foot flags and will be flown together as a temporary exhibition.
In addition to the general public, a handful of artists and notable New Yorkers will design flags as part of the temporary exhibition. Participating artists include Jeff Koons, Marina Abramovi? , Christian Siriano, Sarah Sze, Steve Powers, KAWS, Laurie Anderson, Hank Willis Thomas, Carmen Herrera, Jenny Holzer, Shantell Martin, Sanford Biggers, and Faith Ringgold.
The Flag Project will be on display from August 1-16, 2020.
Art in Focus
Rockefeller Center and Art Production Fund present a site-specific public art presentation by Brooklyn-based ceramics artist Ryan Flores as part of their Art in Focus partnership. Art in Focus displays artwork in prominent and unexpected, public outdoor locations throughout the Rockefeller Center campus.
Flores’ presentation, “Low Lifes: An Upside Down Love Letter,” continues Flores’ exploration of material seduction and its connection to the viewer through the use of ceramic objects. The show takes on a process that is evident in both art history and our contemporary consumer culture creating an excess or grandiosity around everyday objects.
“Low Lifes: An Upside Down Love Letter” currently is on display at Rockefeller Center.
The Vend
The Vend, a novel retail experience in the form of customized vending machines offering solutions for life’s unexpected emergencies through differentiated products from around the world, expands to new locations throughout Rockefeller Center this August. The Vend presents an exciting and easy way for customers to access a variety of products quickly, designed to surprise customers with unique versions of everyday products that are not found elsewhere, helping buyers save time and get back to their lives, whether it’s returning to their office at Rockefeller Center or running a quick errand on their commute home – in an unexpected way. Developed by Tishman Speyer and debuting at Rockefeller Center last year, The Vend features new products such as a selection of masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and wipes, as well as unique food and beverage options carefully curated from different parts of the world, as well as sundries and PPE (masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and wipes).
The Vend is open 24/7 and will be located on the Concourse Level of Rockefeller Center, as well as the 45 Rockefeller Plaza lobby.
About Tishman Speyer (tishmanspeyer.com)
Tishman Speyer is a leading owner, developer, operator and fund manager of first-class real estate in 27 key markets across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Tishman Speyer’s visionary leadership team and on-the-ground experts are unparalleled in their ability to foster innovation, anticipate global and local needs, and cultivate new initiatives, such as Zo and Studio, which focus on the well-being of the people who inhabit its buildings. Founded in 1978, Tishman Speyer develops, builds and manages premier office, residential and retail spaces for industry-leading tenants, as well as state-of-the-art life science centers through its Breakthrough Properties venture. Tishman Speyer has acquired, developed, and operated a portfolio, valued at approximately $97 billion (US) and totaling 184 million square feet across 420 properties, that incorporates such iconic projects as Rockefeller Center in New York City, The Springs in Shanghai, TaunusTurm in Frankfurt, and the Mission Rock neighborhood currently being realized in San Francisco.
