Let's celebrate. (GEI NY)

Despite concerns the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission might not grant the Rainbow Room landmarks status, having denied a request to do so only a few years ago, the commission did exactly that this morning, voting unanimously to add the historic eatery to the city's list of interior landmarks, making it the 115th. Now Tishman Speyer and the as-yet unnamed restaurateur it has selected to reopen the restaurant atop Rockefeller Center can get on with the task—though any changes to the space would not have to pass muster with the commission.

“The Rainbow Room came to epitomize New York City glamor,” commission chairman Robert Tierney said in a statement. “It retains not only many of its original characteristics, but also several generations’ worth of memories. I’d also like to thank the owners for their support of this important designation, and for their many years of fine stewardship of Rockefeller Center.”

The 72-foot high room, with its moody lighting and famous dancefloor at the center, was designed by Wallace Harrison, one of the architects of Rockefeller Center, with the help of decorator Elena Bachman and set designer Vincent Minelli, who worked for years at Radio City Music Hall, as well.

A rare example of an Art Deco style known as Streamlined Modern, the space was recast in the 1980s by Hugh Hardy, a sensitive restoration that modernized the space in places. Previously the alterations had been used to justify denying landmarks designation, but it has since been celebrated by the commission as a thoughtful intervention.

Previously, the Ciprianis had led the landmarking campaign in the midst of a fight with Tishman Speyer over their leave of the space. There was some fear the entire room space might be given over to offices, but that only happened on the bottom floor, which had housed back of the house space, one of the reasons a redesign of the remaining rooms are in order. It is not uncommon for a landlord to submit to landmarking in advance of such a renovation, as NYU did with its Silver Tower Complex.

Correction:An earlier version of this post originally misspelled Vincent Minelli's name as Manelli. The Observer regrets the error.

Dancing into history. (bilde/Angelfire)

One of the big questions surrounding the landmarking of the Rainbow Room was whether or not it would win the support of Tishman Speyer, the august real estate firm that owns Rockefeller Center, home to the famed dance hall and eatery. But the space is lucky as a leprechaun, as the Rainbow Room's landlord came out in support of landmarking yesterday, according to Crain's.

"We have a deep respect for the history of this space and its importance within Rockefeller Center and within the fabric of New York City," Keith Douglas, managing director for Rockefeller Center at Tishman Speyer told the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday. "Protecting, maintaining and enhancing cherished landmark properties are an integral part of our company's mission."

Crain's notes that an operator for the space remains a mystery and it is not clear the commission will support landmarking, though in our view, it seems unlikely they would not. Rarely does a project get to this stage in the process only to be denied.

It is true the commission denied a previous attempt to have the space landmarked in the past, but that was pursued by the Cipriani family, which at the time operated the restaurant. That bid was opposed by Tishman Speyer. This time, the effort is being led by the commission, and with the support of Tishman, it seems almost certain the city will be adding to the hundreds of interior landmarks that make up this great city.

Is magenta one of the rainbow colors? (Wikimedia Commons)

Ginger Rogers and Howard Hughes, two years after the Rainbow Room opened. (Getty)

The Rainbow Room, like Tavern on the Green or Chumley's, was one of those New York institutions no one ever visited, until it was gone, at which point the lamentations became unceasing. The fate of the restaurant atop Rockafeller Center remains a mystery, since it was abruptly closed by the Ciprianis three years ago amidst a rent dispute with another of New York's august families, the Speyers, who control Rock Center.

Whoever takes over the famous (and famously garish) catering hall in the sky, one thing that is unlikely to change is the decor. Today, the Landmarks Preservation Commission decided to consider the two-story space on the 65th floor of 30 Rock for designation as an interior landmark, one 114 in the city. (Others include the Four Seasons, the New York Public Library and, just downstairs, Radio City Music Hall.)

"This is an important calendaring—they’re all important, of course, truly," Commissioner Robert Tierney said at meeting of the commission at the Municipal Building. "This is notable and important for obvious reasons and we look very much forward to the hearing on this."

That hearing is scheduled for September 11, and should the Rainbow Room be designated, any alterations to the space would require the commission's approval. This would not forbid changes, but it would make them more difficult, and it almost guarantees that the space will remain one for food and drink.

At one time, Tishman Speyer had considered turning the space into offices (so lucrative was the city's office market), and the Ciprianis actually proposed landmarking the space themselves as a route to try and preserve their rents—it would be harder to use the space for anything else. Ultimately, the city rejected the proposal and they abandoned the restaurant anyway, but Tishman Speyer did turn the kitchen, on the 64th floor, over to Lazard, which already leased the floors below and was looking to expand.

The 65th floor would likely require renovations to accommodate a new kitchen as a result, which may explain the eagerness of the commission to protect the space. A similar action took place at the old Manufacturers of Hanover bank branch at 510 Fifth Avenue, which was landmarked then redeveloped, after some hue and cry, into a Joe Fresh clothing outlet.

Tishman Speyer has yet to say what will happen to the space or where it stands on its landmarking, though there are vague plans to do something with the space. "Tishman Speyer continues its planning process for the Rainbow Room, which is an icon loved by New Yorkers and visitors from around the world," a spokesperson said in an email.

What is interesting about this particular landmarking is that it not only celebrates the original 1934 design by Walter Harrison (also the architect of Rock Center) but also a post-modern renovation to it in 1987, commissioned by David Rockefeller to the tune of $25 million and designed by celebrated New York architect Hugh Hardy.

According to the commission's statement of significance presented at today's meeting, the space remains a rare example of an early modernist interior in the city, in a style identified as Stremlined Modern: "Though much of the 65th floor was completely remodeled, similar to various earlier renovations, the Rainbow Room was treated with considerable care, and Hardy called his work a 'true restoration.' A rare and distinguished example of Streamlined Modern design, it retains many of its original features and characteristics, making the Rainbow Room one New York City’s highest and most elegant nightclub interiors."

Diana Chapin, a commissioner from Queens, called it “a place of iconic memories" following the commission's unanimous vote to calendar the Rainbow Room.

Rockefeller Christmas tree made you late (Via Getty Images)

The Rockefeller tree lighting ceremony. President Barack Obama's visit to town. A fire on the train tracks of Chambers Street. Oh, and buses that you can walk faster than. Happy December everyone! Now stay indoors for the rest of the winter!

Sotheby's New York, on York Avenue on the Upper East Side.

Sotheby’s York Avenue headquarters in New York will open a two-floor gallery space called S2 next week with a private selling show of the artist Sam Francis.

The show, on display from September 17 through October 14, will inaugurate the new space, which was designed by architect Richard Gluckman. The Francis exhibit is pegged to the artist’s catalogue raisonné. They certainly picked a good time for it, too — this spring a Sam Francis, Middle Blue, sold at Christie’s for $6.3 million, over a high estimate of $5 million.

The two-floor in-house gallery space actually resembles the Christie’s model, and one imagines that they’ll resume using their space at Rockefeller Center for similar reasons after Haunch of Venison moves to Chelsea later this month.

[Via Art Market Monitor]

As The Observer reported in March, the world's 85th-largest law firm, which represented Bernie Madoff's victims in their search for lost treasure, was negotiating to lock down a deal back then. The firm initially subleased 100,000 square feet on the ninth, 10th and 11th floors from Ropes and Gray beginning in 2006, and last year quietly added 20,000 feet more.

Tishman Speyer represented the landlord in-house in the renewal of the space. John Maher, Paul Myers and Tom Shirocky of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant in this deal.

Asking rents in Rockefeller Center can climb into the $80's a square foot, but as of January the firm had received $128 million for its Madoff work, so we doubt that hurts too much.

lkusisto@observer.com

Effective June of 2012, the new lease will encompass most of the art deco building's top floors, with the firm Swanke Hayden Connell Architects retained to redesign Lazard's office space.

Tara Stacom, a vice chairman at Cushman & Wakefield, advised Lazard on the deal, alongside Cushman chairman John Cushman and Cynthia Foster, an executive managing director of Global Client Development.

"Lazard ultimately determined that 30 Rockefeller Plaza provided both a prime location and a distinctive building with a world-class complex, with exceptional ownership and value in today's market," Ms. Stacom said.

jsedertrom@observer.com

Baker Hostetler, the world's 85th-largest law firm, which represented Bernie Madoff's victims in their search for lost treasure, now occupies 100,000 square feet at 45 Rockefeller Plaza. But with its leases expiring in 2012, Baker is trying to lock down the space, sources say.

The firm subleased the 9th, 10th and 11th floors from Ropes and Gray beginning in 2006. Last year, flush with billable hours courtesy of the fallout from the Ponzi schemer, Baker triumphantly added new partners and quietly added 20,000 square feet of Rock Center space. That short-term lease also expires in two years.

The Commercial Observer spoke briefly with CB Richard Ellis' John Maher, who is representing the tenant. Flummoxed, he said he would call us back and did not respond to further requests for comment. Tishman Speyer declined to comment through a spokesman.

Asking rents in Rockefeller Center can climb into the $80s, but as of January, the firm had received $128 million for its Madoff work, so that's unlikely to be a sticking point. Sources say the firm is likely to ink a deal soon.

But if previous Rockefeller Center experience is any indication, they'd better not play too hard to get.

lkusisto@observer.com

An entity affiliated with a long-extinct church, St. Nicholas Collegiate Church, has sold the land rights to its former Rock Center site at 600 Fifth Avenue to Tishman Speyer for $165 million, according to public records. 

A partnership of Tishman Speyer and the Lester Crown family of Chicago already owns most of Rockefeller Center, including the 326,000-square-foot tower that rises at West 48th Street and Fifth Avenue.

The church, part of the Reformed Church of America, was first built on the site in 1847, according to the New York City chapter of the American Guild of Organists. It was replaced several decades later by an "exuberant" Gothic building, dominated by an enormous steeple. Theodore Roosevelt and his family occupied pew No. 39.

It was torn down shortly after World War II to make way for the office and retail development that we know today, but the church retained its claim to the prime land. Over the last several years, the Collegiate Asset Management Corporation, affiliated with the church, has sold off several prime assets, including 306 West 77th Street, according to city records.

Several churches have been consolidating or selling off assets of late, as The Observer has noted. Still, rarely are we likely to see one this financially grand. We weren't the only ones intrigued by the transaction: Real Estate Weekly also had news of the deal.

lkusisto@observer.com

The Danish company has just released its second set of building blocks in the Architecture series, and it has turned once again to the grandest skyline in the world for inspiration. Following up on last year's Empire State Building and Guggenheim, there will now be a Rockefeller Center set to entertain the child in all of us, or those who have always dreamt of being a Speyer. To top it off, they're only available in select locations, one of which happens to be the new LEGO flagship at... Rockefeller Center.

The $39.99 set includes 260 pieces, measures 5.4 inches high when built and is recommended for children over the age of 10. This being New York, probably cut that in half, our kids being so adorably sophisticated and grown-up.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @mc_nyo