One of a series of 16mm silent films made by architect Walter Harrington Kilham, Jr., this historic film shows the construction of Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall. Kilham also authored a book, “Rockefeller Center: a pictorial record from photographs” published in 1933. Kilham worked directly underneath architect Raymond Hood, the chief designer of Rockefeller Center, and his films document history in the making.
This film contains with incredible images of the building of the foundations of Rockefeller Center, and also iron workers in the heights above the city, emplacing steel and riveting beams into place. Some sections are shot in “time lapse” style, showing the construction process as it progressed over the course of months. It :41, a Zeppelin (possibly the Hindenburg) is seen flying over the city. At :58, the 444 Madison Avenue building is seen, a 42-story, Art Deco skyscraper originally built in 1929 that occupies a full blockfront of midtown Manhattan. The views that follow are possibly shot from 444 Madison, showing the vast construction site for Rockefeller Center. At 3:00, various “time lapse” shots of the complex are shown, showing progress in construction.
At 6:47, ground level shots are seen of skyscrapers, including the facade of the Radio City Music Hall at 7:20. At 7:36 is a particularly interesting shot of the “Radio City” sign obscured by the New York Elevated platform.
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example like: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
