John D. Rockefeller Jr. broke ground here in 1931, at the depth of the Great Depression — the largest private building project ever attempted in modern times. Standing beneath 30 Rock and the golden Prometheus statue, you feel the sheer audacity of it.

Our guides tell the stories the plaques leave out: the famous ‘Lunch atop a Skyscraper’ photograph, the Christmas tree tradition that began with construction workers pooling their money, and why an entire city-within-a-city rose during America’s darkest economic hour.

This is stop 03 of five on our free Midtown walking tour — about two hours, 1.5 easy miles, and completely free. You pay whatever you feel the experience was worth at the end.