Wender·Vista
Rockefeller Center Plaza ice rink with tree
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew York
in midtown Manhattan, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues

Rockefeller Center Plaza ice rink with tree

— — the city's living room, the week the tree goes up.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A sunken plaza below street level, ringed by Art Deco limestone, with a sheet of ice the size of a small pond. From late November through early January a Norway spruce stands above it, lit at the public ceremony the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. The rink itself has been open every winter since 1936. — from the studio

from the studio
Rockefeller Center Plaza ice rink with tree
— bring it home

Rockefeller Center Plaza ice rink with tree, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Rockefeller Center Plaza ice rink with tree

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Rockefeller Center is a 22-acre commercial complex in midtown Manhattan, built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. between 1931 and 1939. The lower plaza, sunk roughly fifteen feet below street level between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, was originally a failed shopping concourse; it opened as an ice skating rink on Christmas Day 1936 and has run as a rink every winter since. Above it stands the gilded Prometheus by Paul Manship, installed in 1934, and the holiday tree, by tradition a Norway spruce, lit the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving.

— the year

The tree-lighting tradition began in 1933, two years after construction workers raised a smaller, undecorated tree on the unfinished site in 1931. The lit tree is now a Norway spruce, usually 75 to 100 feet tall, donated each year from a private property in the Northeast and selected by the Rockefeller Center head gardener. The lighting ceremony is held on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving and is broadcast on NBC. The tree stays up through early January and is milled afterward for Habitat for Humanity lumber.

— informed by Wikipedia — the tree
— the visit

The rink is open daily from mid-October through mid-April, with skate sessions running roughly 90 minutes. Tickets and rentals are bought online or at the rink-level booth; peak holiday slots sell out weeks in advance. The plaza itself is free public space at all hours. The closest subway is 47-50 Streets-Rockefeller Center on the B, D, F, and M lines. Top of the Rock, the observation deck on 30 Rockefeller Plaza, gives the cleanest overhead view of the rink and tree.

— informed by Tishman Speyer
— where
United States · Manhattan, New York City, New York
— position
40.7587° N · 73.9787° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
0.2 km E
St. Patrick's Cathedral
cathedral
0.2 km NW
Radio City Music Hall
music hall
0.05 km N
Top of the Rock
observation deck
0.8 km SW
Times Square
plaza
0.6 km S
Bryant Park
park
N
Rockefeller Center Plaza ice rink with tree
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Radio City Music Hall
Top of the Rock
Times Square
Bryant Park
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Rockefeller Center Plaza ice rink with tree — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The rink opened on Christmas Day 1936. The sunken plaza had been built as a shopping concourse and was converted to an ice rink after it failed commercially. It has operated every winter since.

The tree is lit on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving in a ceremony broadcast on NBC. It stays up through early January and is typically taken down the second week of the new year.

The Rockefeller Center tree is usually a Norway spruce between 75 and 100 feet tall. It is donated each year from a private property in the Northeast and selected by the Rockefeller Center head gardener.

Construction workers raised a small undecorated tree on the unfinished site in 1931. The first formal lit-tree ceremony was held in 1933, after the lower buildings opened, and has continued annually since.

Rockefeller Center was developed by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and designed by a consortium led by architects Raymond Hood, Wallace Harrison, and the firm Reinhard and Hofmeister. Construction ran from 1931 to 1939.

Prometheus, by sculptor Paul Manship, installed in 1934. It is one of the most photographed sculptures in New York and the visual anchor of the lower plaza throughout the year.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Rockefeller Center at the holidays is one of the most loaded images in the city's emotional vocabulary. A Medium or Large with a handwritten note from the studio reads well as a Christmas gift or a milestone marker.

The deep greens, gold, and warm window-light read into Maximalist, traditional Manhattan-modern, and holiday-forward palettes. It pairs with brass, walnut, and velvet better than with stark minimalist schemes.

A single Large reads well above a console; above a full sofa we recommend a 4-tile Mural; for a stair landing or long wall, a 9-tile Mural lets the plaza and tree fill the field of view.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and rated for vertical wet installations, including kitchen backsplashes. The Glossy finish is reserved for dry display walls.

A soft microfibre cloth and plain water. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, beneath a thin glossy finish, so daily cleaning does not affect the image.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is created in-house by Reid Wender and the studio. We do not license artwork from other artists and we do not resell stock imagery.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.