The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-01-25

nuge DIOCkS VI Iohn n Tr
stock in some
of this nations biggest entertain
ment enterprises, and he has built
the largest entertainment center
in the world.
Movie cameras click. chorus
girls prance, and crooners Groom
to the tune of Rockefeller mil
lions.
All this is strangely incongruous
in the light of Rockefeller train
. ing and traditions. AS a boy,
John D. Jr. wasn't allowed to at
tend the theater at all, and his
Is cents a week spending money
wouldn't have bought a ticket
anyway.
The sequence of events which
were to make him an entertain
ment magnate started in 1929. He
had leased almost three square
blocks in midtown Manhattan,
and there expected to launch an
ambitious enterprise in city plan
ming and provide new home for
the Metropolitan opera.
DUT the Metropolitan backed
- out, politely but fatty, and left
the younger Rockefeller holding
an 87-year lease on lot of old
stores and brownStone houses,
with rental charges amounting to
nearly 100000 annually.
Then was conceived the idea of
"a huge cultural and amusement
center, combining the arts and the
entertainment fields" First it was
called Radio City, then Metropoli-
tan Square, finally Rockefeller
Center. National Broadcasting
Company, Radio Corporation of
America and Radio Keith Or -
pheum came in to help pay the
rent.
Plans we're made for the biggest
office building in the world, the
biggest theater in the world. the
finest movie palace in the world
and many another largest, ""most
beautiful and most costly" this
and that.
Most of these have been built,
and construction on the remainder
is continuing. John D. Jr., per-
sonally has guaranteed a mortgage
loan of $65000,000 (also the big
gest in the world to furnish ready
money for the work.
So Rockefeller Center stands to-
day as the last and greatest monu-
ment to the easy-money boom
times of the twenties.
ID OCKEFELLER was forced to
ANspend extra millions to buy
unexpired leases in the area,
many of these leases on buildings
which housed speakeasies.
Then Samuel Rothafe1, who
went into the movie business and
became a specialist in the spec
tacular under the name of Roxy,
was named as director of the en-
tertainment enterprises in Rookie
Teller Center.
While the capitalist supplied
the money, things we're carried
forward on a grand scale. Roxy is
articulate only when he talks in
superlatives.
After a few short weeks, the
vast Music Hall had a severe case
of boX-office trouble and has been
changed to a movie theater. The
movie theater, in turn, probably
will become vaudeville house, or
may be closed entirely.
Meanwhile, troubles have come
from other quarters. Agents are
wondering how they possibly can
rent the 100000 square feet of
office space that will be available,
or the special buildings that we're
to have been built for foreign
countries, or the mile of shop
frontage that will be installed in
the development.
Both the National Broadcasting
Company and the Radio Corpora
ton find that they don't need
anything like the amount of office
and studio space they Originally
contracted for. So they have adj
justed their rental commitments
by turning over blocks of stock.
Rockefeller thus has acquired
100000 shares of common stock
in RKO, and 100000 shares of
A-preferred in the Radio Corpora
ton.