The Rainbow Room, now celebrating its 67th year, is just as elegant and "in" today as it was when it opened in October 1934. It's one of New York's most glamorous, talked-about restaurants, 65 stories above Manhattan.
This world-renowned, luxurious nightspot, with an unparalleled view, presents a sweeping panorama of all of New York from atop the RCA Building at Rockefeller Center in the heart of Midtown. On a clear day, the unobstructed view from this famous landmark stretches almost 50 miles.
On August 22, 1934, the New York Times heralded the opening of the new room with the headline: "Nightclub to Open Atop RCA Building." The article went on to report, "The dining room will be known as the "Stratosphere" and will open two stories high, with an extensive array of entertainment."

The Times described the Art-Deco richness and the subdued color scheme with walls and floors used merely for background effects. "People will furnish the brilliant colors," it reported.
Added to that background were the full-length mirrors between narrow wall panels covered in rich brown satin, and the emerald green carpets to blend with jade green leather upholstered chairs. "Mirrors, crystal, soft indirect light everywhere will give radi-ance," continues The Times.
Twenty-four windows reach from floor to ceiling for a spectacular view of the entire Metropolitan New York area.
When the room opened two months later, it was just as The New York Times described.
The Rockefeller Center architects, Reinhard & Hofmeistes; Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray; and Hood & Fouilhoux, had done their job well.
The name was changed from "Stratosphere" because, according to The New Yorker, "the Rockefellers decided that it (the name) not only fell short of the mark, but it sounded too much like an ordinary nightclub."
The space atop the RCA Building on the eastern side was to be in a class of its own, unlike any other nightclubs of the day.
The name "Rainbow Room" most likely came from the unique color organ which converted musical tones to colored lights which were reflected in the domed ceiling - a forerunner of today's sound and light shows. Deep tones made rose light; high tones had an amber glow; middle tones gave green and blue lights. The intensity of the colors were in direct proportion to the intensity of the sound.

When the room opened, all of New York society turned out for the gala benefit dinner for the Lenox Hill Neighborhood Association.
It was also the American debut of the distinguished French chanteuse, Lucienne Hoyer. One of society's favorite bands, Jolly Coburn and his orchestra played for the distinguished group in white tie and tails, complementing the elegantly dressed guests who set the stage for many years when formal dress was requested of all guests at this unique skyscraper supper club.
Just a few months later, on January 9, 1935, Beatrice Lillie made her first personal appearance there in New York for several seasons. Noel Coward attended the opening night along with Cole Porter and Elsa Maxwell. He joined Miss Lillie in ari unplanned duet for the delighted audience.
All of the great orchestras of the day were heard on The Rainbow Room bandstand - Ray Noble, Glen Gray, Val Olman, and Duke Ellington.
Talents like Edgar Bergen, "The Revuers" including Adolph Green and Hetty Comden, then new young performers.
Fred Astaire, Mary Martin, and Ginger Rogers were among the great artists to mesmerize audiences.
During the early years it boasted such original and entirely surprising entertainmsnt that Rockefeller Center weekly was forced to report that the "Rainbow Room must be accustomed to being viewed with alarm, and appears to be thriving on its notoriety."
The startling attractions referred to included ventriloquists, marionette shows, a trained horse, table tennis and badminton players, tap dancers, and a blind pianist.
Nor should we forget the popularity of dance teams with names like Glover and La Mare, Mary Raye and Naldo, Jack Holland and June Hart, who were the rage of the day; or the waltz contests and The Rainbow Room's introduction to the "Big Apple Dance," or scores of ínternational celebrities and nobility who have wined, dined or danced in the clouds.
In 1942, following Pearl Harbor, as the nation's energies went into the war effort, the dancing stopped on the 65th floor after the restaurant was closed to the public. (The restaurant re-opened in October 1950.)
It was not until February 1975, when Tony May and Brian Daly formed the D-M Restaurant Corporation to run the room, that the music resumed. The partners realized that the time was ripe for the reintroduction of dancing cheek-to-cheek to the Big Band Sounds, and that The Rainbow Room was the ideal spot.
The partners invited famed arranger/composer Sy Oliver and his newly formed orchestra, to play for a short engagement.
The dancing policy proved so successful that Oliver has been playing on the bandstand ever since.

The Rainbow Room is still the setting for New York's most glamorous parties and events.
Only recently, Perry Como, Christopher Reeves, the First Lady, Nancy Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, and Liz Taylor, were among the honored guests.
Countless Broadway shows and major pictures have their premiere parties on the 65th floor of Rockefeller Center.
It's the favorite spot for international travellers, for nobility, politicians and celebrities, who wine, dine and dance amid the Art-Deco elegance.
In addition to its dinner menus, The Rainbow Room also offers a fixed price Sunday brunch, which has become a New York institution. Across the hall, the newly renovated and redecorated restaurant, The Rainbow Grill, which first opened in 1935, maintains the elegance and tradition of the 1930's, whilst consistently having changed with the times.
Both rooms have never relinquished the tradition of stately charm which has made both nightspots among the world's most prized entertainment establishments.

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