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Designed by John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood the lobby which looks more like a

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Designed by John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood, the lobby, which looks more like a planetarium, features a magnificent sunken globe and caused a sensation when the building was completed. So many spectators clogged up the entrance that it was necessary for another entrance to be built for employees.A short walk away is one of New York's most impressive Art Deco skyscrapers, the Chanin Building, 122 East 42nd Street. Constructed between 1927 and 1929, it features a decorative plate on the first-floor level designed by celebrated Art Deco artist Renee Chamberlain. On the 52nd floor you'll find the German National Tourist office (001 212 661 7200). Ask very nicely and you might be allowed to peek inside its original Thirties bathroom.Stand at the corner of East 51st and Lexington Avenue for the best view of the General Electric Building, which is decorated with zigzags, lightening bolts and geometric wave mosaics.Further downtown is One Wall Street, home to the Bank of New York ( ) and one of the city's most opulent interiors. The Red Room was created by muralist Hildreth Mei? and is a towering 8,911sq feet Gothic-inspired hall, the size of a tennis court, which is covered in red and gold mosaic tiles, 2,000 of which were made of gold ore.

Since the attack on the World Trade Center, the public can't gain access (unless, of course, you are one of the $1m-plus account holders) – but there's no law against looking through the windows. Round the corner you'll find the Trump Building and the Cities Service at 70 Pine Street. Designed in 1932, it has one of the last Art Deco lobbies ever built.To get a real taste of Art Deco New York take an Art Deco Metropolis walking tour with architecture buff Anthony Robins. These are held every Sunday at 2.15pm from West Side YMCA, West 63rd Street between Central Park West and Broadway. They last around two and half hours and cost $15 (£10) per person. For reservations e-mail: trob pipeline . For further details visit the Art Deco Society of New York's website at .My neck is getting sore,Anything else?Both the Metropolitan Museum of Art (001 212 535 7710; ), 1000 Fifth Avenue and The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (001 212 849 8380; ) exhibit pieces dating from the period.

The former displays Dupas panels from the Thirties cruise ship the Normandie and some of the ship's decorative objects.Take a break for a bite to eat at the suitably retro Empire Diner (001 212 243 2736), 10th Avenue and 22nd Street, which serves all manner of diner staples including pancakes and burgers, and is open 24 hours a day.The giant Rockefeller Center between Fifth and Sixth Avenue and West 48th and West 51st Street was opened in 1931 close to the end of Prohibition and at the start of the Depression. Seen by many as a pointless folly doomed to failure, it has become one of New York's great landmarks. Now the plaza is home to upmarket shops, designer boutiques, caf?and an ice rink, which has been open since 1936. Part of the interior was designed by Diego Rivera, who was taken off the job for his Communist-leaning murals for the entrance hall.For the ultimate Art Deco dining experience (as seen in Sleepless in Seattle and countless other movies), reserve a table at The Rainbow Room and The Rainbow Grill, (001 212 632 5100; ) at the top of the Rockefeller Center. The restaurant is run by the upmarket Cipriani family and offers dinner and cocktails from 5pm to 1am daily and brunch from 11am to 4pm every Sunday.The adjacent Radio City was opened on 27 December 1932 with a gala opening night.

Home to the dance troupe the Rockettes, its theatre is one of the largest in the world and seats almost 6,000 people. Take the worthwhile Radio City Stage Door Tour (001 212 247 4777; ), 7th Avenue at 32nd Street. Tours depart every half-hour, Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm, Sundays 11am to 5pm and cost $17 (£11) per adult.For information contact NYC&Company on 020-7202 6368 or visit .WHere else can I visit?Not to be eclipsed, Chicago has its fair share of impressive Art Deco buildings too, which include the Palmolive Building, 919 North Michigan Avenue, the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Chicago Daily News Building. A Downtown Deco tour is given by the Chicago Architecture Foundation (001 312 922 3432; ) on Thursdays and Saturdays at 10:30am from 3 April to 30 October. Tours start at the Chicago Board of Trade Building, 141 West Jackson and cost $10 (£6.60) per adult. The foundation also offers tours of the suburb of Oak Park, associated with the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who had immeasurable influence over American architecture in the Twenties, Thirties and Forties.

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