Completed in 1933, the six-story structure was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood, Rockefeller Center's lead architect.

La Maison Francaise and the British Empire Building are separated by Channel Gardens, a planted pedestrian esplanade running west to the complex's Lower Plaza.

The building's entrances contain ornate decorations by Lee Lawrie, Alfred Janniot, and Rene Paul Chambellan.

La Maison Francaise is part of the Rockefeller Center complex in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.

[3] The Channel Gardens, a 60-foot-wide (18 m), 200-foot-long (61 m) planted pedestrian esplanade, separates the British Empire Building and La Maison Francaise.

[7][8] The Lower Plaza is a below-grade courtyard containing Paul Manship's Prometheus sculpture and aseasonal ice rink.

[10][11] Architectural critic Paul Goldberger of The New York Times described the British Empire Building, Channel Gardens, and La Maison Francaise as "leading to a central focus", namely the Lower Plaza.

[16][17] The building was designed by the Associated Architects of Rockefeller Center, composed of the firms of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray; Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux; and Reinhard & Hofmeister.

[24] The masses of the British Empire Building and La Maison Francaise complement that of 623 Fifth Avenue to the east[25] and 30 Rockefeller Plaza to the west.

[26] Hartley Burr Alexander, a mythology and symbology professor who oversaw Rockefeller Center's art program, led the installation of artwork throughout the complex.

[38] The personification of France holds the Notre Dame on her lap and the scroll unfurling behind is inscribed with the Latin motto of Paris: "fluctuat nec mergitur" (it floats, but never sinks).

[35][37] The personification of New York sits in front of an unfurling scroll with the state's name, as well as a carving of Rockefeller Center's skyscrapers.

[41][42] The figure's left breast is barely covered, which was meant to symbolize danger, while her pose was intended to signify triumph.

[45][41] The Louis XIV panel shows a scepter, a pair of fleurs-de-lis, and a torch intersected by a banner with the inscription "L'etat, c'est moi" (I am the state).

[61] C. J. Hughes of The New York Times described the roof gardens in 2019 as "jewels that have broken loose from a necklace and landed on a dusty floor".

[19][69] The planned opera house was canceled in December 1929 due to various issues,[70][71][72] and Rockefeller quickly negotiated with Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and its subsidiaries, National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO), to build a mass media entertainment complex on the site.

[76][77] One proposal for Rockefeller Center, revealed in March 1930,[78] included an oval retail building on Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, whose top floors would contain Chase National Bank offices.

[9] Rockefeller Center's managers held talks with prospective Czech, German, Italian, and Swedish lessees who could potentially occupy the six-story internationally themed buildings on Fifth Avenue.

[35] In June 1933, the New York Building Congress hosted a ceremony on the first floor, giving craftsmanship awards to 22 workers who were involved in the project.

[108] The French government had expressed interest in occupying space at La Maison Francaise shortly after the building plans were announced,[96] and a tourist bureau opened in October 1933.

[109] Other early tenants included wine distributor G. H. Mumm,[110] perfume store Les Parfums Marley,[111] steamship line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique,[112] designer Anny Blatt,[113] and newspaper Courrier des États-Unis.

[128] After World War II, Rockefeller Center sought to add air conditioning to its original structures, as this feature was already in place in newer buildings.

[130] The onset of the Korean War in 1950 delayed the project but, by the next year, Columbia had acquiesced to reimbursing Rockefeller Center Inc. for the installation.

[135] During the next decade, the building's tenants included technology firm Raytheon Company,[136] film producers WSK Associates,[137] and a South African travel office.

[145] The Rockefeller family and Columbia University acknowledged that the buildings were already symbolically landmarks, but their spokesman John E. Zuccotti recommended that only the block between 49th and 50th Streets be protected, including La Maison Francaise.

[154][155] The Hudson-Shatz Painting Company also restored Janniot's cartouche and bronze panel above La Maison Francaise's entrance in 1985, coating these with a 23-karat layer of gold.

[160][54] In exchange, the Rockefeller Group had to preserve the original buildings between 49th and 50th Streets[b] under a more stringent set of regulations than the rest of the complex.

[167] A preservation dispute arose in May 1998, when the owners announced plans to enlarge shop windows on the center's Fifth Avenue buildings to two stories.

[174][175] The building's Librarie de France bookstore closed in 2009, after three-quarters of a century, due to rapidly increasing rent.

These plans included modifications to lighting, planting, pathways, and facades, such as the storefronts of La Maison Francaise and the British Empire Building.