Chrysler Building, New York City
Photo: David Shankbone, GNU Free Documentation License
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper in New York City. It is located on the east side of Manhattan at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Chrysler Building is 319 m (1,047 ft) high. For a brief period, it was the world's tallest building before it was overtaken by the Empire State Building in 1931. However, the Chrysler Building remains the world's tallest brick building. After the destruction of the World Trade Center, it is again the second tallest building in New York City.
The Chrysler Building is considered by contemporary architects as a masterpiece of Art Deco architecture, and by many as the finest building in New York City. The ornamentation of the building is in fact based on features on Chrysler automobiles. The eagle gargoyles on the 61st floor are replicas of the 1929 Chrysler hood ornaments. On the 31st floor, the corner ornamentation are replicas of the 1929 Chrysler radiator caps. The building is constructed of masonry, with a steel frame, and metal cladding.
The Chrysler Building was designed by architect William Van Alen to house the Chrysler Corporation headquarters. At the time of the ground breaking, on September 19, 1928, New York City was on a skyscraper building fever, with several buildings trying to out-do the other as the tallest in the world. As with the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building was constructed at a frantic pace - an average of four floors were added per week - no workers died during its construction.
Before it was completed, the Chrysler Building was the same height as another rival project, 40 Wall Street, designed by H. Craig Severance. Severance increased the height of his building and then publicly claimed his to be the tallest habitable building in the world (not counting towers such as the Eiffel Tower). In response, Van Alen secretly erected a 125 foot (58.4 meters) tall spire inside the frame of the building. On October 23, 1929, the spire was hoisted onto the top of the building in just 90 minutes. With the addition of the spire, the Chrysler Building surpassed 40 Wall street for the title of world tallest building, while the Eiffel Tower remains the world's tallest structure. It was also the first man-made structure to surpass the 1,000 feet mark. Van Alen's glee however was muted when Walter Chryslter refused to pay the balance of his fee. Nevertheless, the triumph of Chrysler Building was shortlived. Less than a year after it opened on 27 May, 1930, the Empire State Building surpassed it in height.
The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.
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