30 Rock Officially Renamed the Comcast Building

New York City’s famous skyscraper 30 Rockefeller Plaza has been officially renamed the Comcast Building. For the first time in history, the skyscraper will light up the city with the Comcast name and NBC Peacock on Wednesday night.

The building, nicknamed 30 Rock and located in midtown Manhattan, will replace the General Electric initials it currently has with 12 foot high Comcast letters on the building’s north and south sides, topped with an 11 foot tall NBC peacock. There will also be an 18 foot tall peacock on the building’s western façade, NBC New York reported.

The new, massive signs feature custom energy efficient LED lights and, for the first time ever, will light up the New York City skyline. The day is significant for NBCUniversal and NBC 4 New York because on July 1, 1941 the skyscraper aired the first commercial broadcast for WNBC—then called WNBT—NBC New York reported.

Over the years, the building has undergone a name change three times. In 1937, it was called the RCA building after the company that founded NBC and renamed in 1988 for General Electric. In 2013, Comcast bought General Electric’s 49 percent stake in NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion. Brian Roberts, chief executive of Comcast, told the New York Times in 2013 that the Rockefeller Plaza offices were “iconic” and said, “We’re proud to be associated with it.”

“I remember when it said RCA up there,” said Michael Miscione, the Manhattan borough president, according to NBC New York. “The fact that they’re bringing GE down is just one step in a many decade evolution of the signage on the building."

The Rockefeller Center originally opened in 1933, and was developed by John D. Rockefeller as a “city within a city.” Now, the Rockefeller Center is used for a variety of purposes: NBC 4 New York uses a studio on the third floor to broadcast their newscasts, and the Top of the Rock Observation Deck is a popular tourist attraction.