Lunch at Rockefeller Center – Photography, Images and Cameras

Figures depicting the races of mankind: red, white, yellow and black.

We recently went into New York City to have lunch at the Brasserie Ruhlmann with our visiting son-in-law, and to pass to him some Christmas gifts for the family. The food at the restaurant was excellent, but the place itself was packed – maybe not too much of a surprise. We were after all at Rockefeller Center shortly before Christmas.

As we were leaving I noticed the lovely art deco facade of the building: The International Building. According to an entry in Flickr:

Lee Lawrie‘s The Story of Mankind, a massive carved limestone Art Deco sculptural grill has adroned the entrance to the International Building at 29 West 50th Street, since its installtion in September 1937. Serving a dual purpose–chronicling the progress of mankind, as well as symbolizing the purpose of the International Building, Lawrie divided the screen into fifteen small rectangular spaces contained carved images he called “hieroglyphs.”

The “story” begins at the bottom center, with four sterotypical figures depicting the races of mankind: red, white, yellow and black. Directly above them is a sailing ship symbolizing international trade. Above that are three male figures representing art, science and industry. And above that is the mythological messenger god, Mercury, symbolizing communication and trade. At the top, the earth is represented by a clock and its rays. It is flanked by the two hempispheres, represented by the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross. The regions are represented by a seagull and whale’s fluke for the North, palm trees for the South, a mosque for the East, and an Aztec temple for the West. A Norman tower represents agrarianism, and three smokestacks represent the new industrial age. The kingdoms of the world are represented by a lion, and the republics are represented by an eagle.

Rene Chambellan worked with Larie to create the model, and Leon V. Solon design the coloration. German-born Lee Lawrie was well known as an architectural sculptor. His work can be found at St. Thomas Church and throughout Rockefeller Center: Wisdom, flanked on the left by Light and on the right by Sound at 30 Rockefeller Plaza; Winged Mercury and Heraldic Lions at the British Empire Building; Fleur-de-lis and Seeds of Good Citizenship at La Maison Française; Progress at One Rockefeller Plaza; Saint Francis of Assisi, Swords into Plowshares, Columbia Greeting a Woman, Boatman, Fourteen coats of Arms, Corncucopia of Plenty, and most famously, Atlas at the International building.