I'm dreaming of a Rosemont Christmas

They were lighting the tree the other night at Rockefeller Center in New York. Streets were crowded with revelers headed out for a skate on the famous ice rink, where for $300 during the holidays you can propose marriage to a soundtrack, and a potential bride, of your own choosing. Many folks were headed down to Radio City Music Hall, where the Rockettes were starring, for the 85th year, in their Radio City Christmas Spectacular. It was the kind of quintessential (and well-branded) urban vista that explains why the streets of New York are crowded with foreign visitors and why hotels there cost a fortune in December.

Chris Jones

December 7, 2012