How Accurate Is 'Great Fortune: The Epic Of Rockefeller Center' Historically?

As someone who's obsessed with historical accuracy in literature, I found 'Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center' to be remarkably precise. The author clearly did their homework, weaving real architectural blueprints, Rockefeller's personal correspondence, and even construction workers' diaries into the narrative. What impressed me most was how they captured the tension between art and commerce during the Depression era—details like the debate over Diego Rivera's mural being destroyed because it included Lenin are spot-on. The book doesn't just regurgitate facts; it reconstructs the visceral atmosphere of 1930s New York, from the smell of wet concrete to the sound of rivet guns echoing between skyscrapers. Minor characters like the stonecutters who carved the building's facades are based on actual payroll records, giving authenticity to their struggles. While some dialogue is inevitably imagined, the core events—the land acquisition battles, the race to complete the RCA Building, the controversial art commissions—are all meticulously documented.

Having studied New York's architectural history for years, I can confirm this book stands out for its scholarly rigor blended with storytelling flair. The first half dives deep into John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s gamble to build the complex during economic collapse, using recently declassified banking records to reveal how close the project came to failure. The narrative exposes lesser-known truths, like how the original plan included an opera house that got axed, or how the builders secretly used inferior materials in some sections to cut costs—details verified through 1980s renovation reports.

The second half shifts focus to the cultural impact, drawing from museum archives to trace how Rockefeller Center redefined public art. The book corrects popular myths, such as the idea that the Radio City Music Hall was an instant success (it actually went bankrupt twice). What makes it exceptional is how the author cross-references oral histories with engineering documents—when describing the dangerous 'top-out' ceremony where workers balanced beams 850 feet in the air, they cite both newspaper accounts and the ironworkers' union safety logs.

For those wanting to explore further, I'd suggest pairing it with 'The Power Broker' for context on New York's development wars, or the documentary 'Vertical City' which features actual construction footage from 1932. The book isn't perfect—it glosses over some labor disputes—but for architectural history buffs, it's as close to a time machine as you'll get.

What grabbed me about this book's historical approach is how it humanizes the statistics. Instead of just stating '14 buildings were completed in 9 years,' it follows specific stonemasons through blistering summers and frozen winters, using their union meeting minutes to show how they negotiated danger pay. The chapter on the Prometheus statue's creation is particularly vivid—the sculptor Paul Manship's sketches match the descriptions of his studio chaos, and the book even notes how the gilding was redone three times because Rockefeller hated the shade.

The political context is equally well-researched. When discussing the Rockefeller family's controversial eviction of small businesses to clear the site, the author doesn't take sides—they present court transcripts alongside protesters' flyers. You get the full picture: the grandeur and the grit. For visual learners, tracking down the photography book 'Rockefeller Center Rising' enhances the experience, showing how each detail in 'Great Fortune' aligns with archival images. Minor liberties are taken with weather conditions during key events, but the core timeline holds up under scrutiny from urban historians.