The arc of the rainbow is a single majestic parabola. It ends, if you believe in such things, with a pot of gold. But the arch of the Rainbow Room, one of New York City’s most famous bars, is not one graceful curve; rather, it is a series of upwardly and downwardly sweeping sine waves.
First opened in 1934, a favorite project of John D. Rockefeller Jr. the Rainbow Room was a light-flooded marvel of modern architecture. As noted in the Architectural Forum in 1936, “to a generation that loves to socialize, accustomed to smoke-filled catacombs, it offers the ultimate luxury: high ceilings and windows from which to look out.” Built on the 65th floor of the then RCA building, it featured a revolving dance floor and an organ attached to a colorful light display (hence the name Rainbow Room). Despite being praised at the time, the Rainbow opened and closed in spurts and started with a changing set of owners. Renovations have come and gone, some more successful, i.e. true to the glory of the first dawn, than others. According to The New York Times, by 1977 the space had “slipped through the decades, and in recent years the room seemed to float mostly on memories, tourists and views.” Soon, however, Veselka’s fate will change again.
After a nearly $20 million renovation that eventually approached $30 million, led by showman-restaurateur Joe Baum, the Rainbow Room was restored to its glory. Baum, along with architect Hugh Hardy, painstakingly recreated the glamor of the original Rainbow, going so far as to find the grandchildren of the man who created the revolving dance floor and commissioned a new one from him. Within a little over a decade, the Rainbow Room was once again brilliant. This time, it was not just a nightclub and restaurant, but a bar that had a huge impact on American cocktail culture thanks to Dale DeGroff, who led a revolutionary cocktail program. A few months before the opening, DeGroff immersed himself in the classic cocktails of London, Paris, and New York, seeking to restore the luster of the late 19th and early 20th century drinks. He avoided shortcuts, insisting on fresh juice and no ready-made mixers. His drinks were strong, robust, and serious, laying the groundwork for the second golden era of cocktails that we are still in today.
Re-opened in 2014 after a five-year renovation, Rainbow Room at the Rock continues the nearly century-old tradition of a chic restaurant on the 65th floor of Rockefeller Plaza, with a spectacular view of southern Manhattan.