Chester’s Rockefeller Center is a fine example of a small, one-room, nineteenth-century Carpenter Gothic commercial building. The building was constructed between 1868 and 1887 on Main Street during Chester’s iron heyday and served various purposes over the years. From 1955 to 1969, John Carlos Rockefeller and Gertrude Rockefeller ran a greeting card and bicycle shop out of the building, lending it the name of Rockefeller Center, which it retains today. The building underwent some limited modification during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries and was relocated in 1996 to another location along Main Street to prevent demolition. One-story commercial buildings are increasingly rare as they were often constructed for little cost with the intent to be replaced as land values increased with taller buildings often containing stores on the first floor and residences on the upper floors.

The 2022 Trust grant will help fund the exterior and interior repair and restoration of the building.