Rockefeller Center is the largest privately owned business and entertainment complex in the world. It was designed by a consortium of leading architects and has been expanded since its inception in 1931. At a time of vast unemployment, 75,000 people were employed at the site and 150,000 worked elsewhere preparing the materials used in the construction.
When construction began, Columbia University owned the land that was a gift from New York State in 1814. Initiated as a project to create a new home for the Metropolitan Opera Company, the site was developed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. as a private enterprise. Rockefeller Center had a plan to lease the land from Columbia University until 2069 but in 1985, Columbia sold the land to the Center for $400 million dollars. Today, it has 18 skyscrapers built around the central, 70-story RCA building. Nearly one-fourth of the land has been left open with plazas, trees and sculptures. The lower plaza hosts a restaurant in summer and an ice-skating rink from October to April.