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Mural

The History of Transportation

Dean Cornwell

American. 1892 - 1960

10 Rockefeller Plaza main lobby

With major commercial air travel taking off after World War II, Dean Cornwell was commissioned to create a mural depicting the advances of transportation. The mural spans three walls of the lobby, its parts subtitled Night Flight, New World Unity and Day Flight. In montage fashion, the murals begin with outdated modes of transportation important to the development of America. Other symbols include a falcon, goddesses, even race-car driver Eddie Rickenbacker, the then-president of Eastern Airlines (the primary tenant of this building). Cornwell had illustrations in leading magazines and was awarded a gold medal by the Architectural League of New York.

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