Chrysler Building

The Chrysler Building is a very tall building in New York City. It is 1,046 feet tall and was finished in 1930. At that time, it was the tallest building in the world for a short time. Today, it is one of the tallest buildings in the city.

The building was built by Walter Chrysler, who was the head of the Chrysler Corporation. He wanted it to be a special gift for his children. Even though it is named after the Chrysler company, the company did not use it as its main office. The building is known for its beautiful Art Deco style, which many people love.

When the Chrysler Building first opened, some people thought it looked unusual, but later it became famous as a great example of Art Deco design. In 1978, it was named a special landmark in New York City, and in 1976, it was added to a list of important historic places in the United States.

Site

The Chrysler Building is on the east side of Lexington Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The land was given to The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1902. The shape of the site is like a trapezoid, with different lengths along the streets. The building has its own special ZIP Code, 10174, which is rare for buildings.

Nearby, you can find the Grand Hyatt New York hotel and the Graybar Building across Lexington Avenue, and the Socony-Mobil Building across 42nd Street. The Chanin Building lies southwest of it.

Architecture

The Chrysler Building was designed by William Van Alen in the Art Deco style and is named after Walter Chrysler, one of its first tenants. It is the 12th-tallest building in the city and tied with The New York Times Building. The building has a steel frame filled with masonry and decorative metal cladding. It has 3,862 windows. There are metal ornaments on five floors that look like gargoyles on Gothic cathedrals. The 31st floor has gargoyles and copies of 1929 Chrysler radiator caps, and the 61st floor has eagles, honoring America's national bird.

The building uses bright "Nirosta" stainless steel, a special alloy. It was the first time this steel was used in an American building. The steel helped create the building's shapes and lines. Stainless steel makers tested how well it lasted. They checked the building every five years until 1960. The panels showed little wear, so they stopped checking.

The building's height and required setbacks shaped its design. The walls of the first sixteen floors rise straight up, with a small space on one side. There are setbacks on floors 16, 18, 23, 28, and 31, following the 1916 Zoning Resolution. This gives the building a ziggurat shape on one side and a U-shaped palazzo on the other. Above the 31st floor, there are no more setbacks until the 60th floor. After that, the building narrows into a Maltese cross shape.

The floor plans of the first sixteen floors were made large to maximize space closest to the ground. The U-shaped space above the fourth floor served as a shaft for airflow and lighting. The area between floors 28 and 31 added interest to the middle of the building.

The building's distinctive Art Deco crown and spire

The ground floor is covered in polished black granite, while the three floors above it are clad in white marble. There are two main entrances, on Lexington Avenue and on 42nd Street. There are also storefronts with large Nirosta-steel-framed windows at ground level. Office windows are on the second through fourth floors.

The west and east sides have air shafts above the fourth floor, while the north and south sides have the receding setbacks. Below the 16th floor, the facade is clad with white brick, interrupted by white-marble bands. The inside faces of the brick walls are coated with a waterproof grout. The windows are arranged in grids and do not have window sills. Between the 16th and 24th floors, the exterior shows vertical white brick columns separated by windows on each floor. There are abstract reliefs on the 20th through 22nd-floor spandrels, while the 24th floor has decorative pineapples.

Above the third setback, made up of the 24th through 27th floors, the facade has horizontal bands and zigzagged gray-and-black brick designs. The section above the fourth setback, between the 27th and 31st floors, serves as a base for the building's main shaft. There are Nirosta-steel decorations above the setbacks. At each corner of the 31st floor, large car-hood ornaments were added. The 31st floor also has a gray and white frieze of hubcaps and fenders, representing the Chrysler Corporation. The hood decorations are shaped like Mercury's winged helmet and look like hood ornaments on Chrysler cars of the time.

The tower shaft was designed to highlight both the horizontal and vertical. Each of the tower's four sides has three columns of windows, each framed by bricks and an unbroken marble pillar that runs along each side. The spandrels between the windows have "alternating vertical stripes in gray and white brick", while each corner has horizontal rows of black brick.

Ornaments resembling:

Hood ornaments
(31st floor)

Hubcaps and fenders
(31st floor)

The lower walls are clad with white brick, interrupted by white-marble bands in a manner similar to a basket weaving.

Eagles
(61st floor)

The Chrysler Building is famous for its terraced crown, an extension of the main tower. Made of seven radiating terraced arches, the crown is a cruciform groin vault of seven concentric members with changing setbacks. The whole crown is clad with Nirosta steel, ribbed and riveted in a radiating sunburst pattern with many triangular vaulted windows. The crown and spire are lit by fluorescent lights around the crown's triangular windows and colored lights facing the building, allowing it to be lit in many colors for special events.

The interior of the building has several features that were new when the building was built. The walls between offices are soundproof and divided into sections that can be changed quickly. Pipes under the floors carry telephone and electricity wires. The top floors are the smallest in the building.

The lobby is triangular, connecting with entrances on Lexington Avenue, 42nd Street, and 43rd Street. The lobby was the only public part of the Chrysler Building by the 2000s. The lobby has Nirosta steel doors, above which are etched-glass panels that let in natural light. The floors have bands of yellow travertine from Siena. The walls are covered with large slabs of African red granite.

The ceiling has a large mural, Transport and Human Endeavor, designed by Edward Trumbull. The mural's theme is "energy and man's use of it to solve his problems", and it honors the Golden Age of Aviation and the Machine Age.

There are 32 elevators in the skyscraper, grouped into four banks. When the building opened, 28 of the elevators were for passengers. Each bank serves different floors in the building.

On the 42nd Street side of the Chrysler Building, a staircase from the street goes directly under the building to the New York City Subway's , , , , , , and S trains at Grand Central–42nd Street station.

View from one of the north-facing triangular windows

The private Cloud Club was on the 66th through 68th floors. It opened in July 1930 with about three hundred members, all wealthy men who were part of the city's elite.

From the building's opening until 1945, it had an observation deck on the 71st floor. For fifty cents visitors could walk around its edge. The center of the observatory had the toolbox that Walter P. Chrysler used early in his career as a mechanic.

History

In the 1920s, New York City grew very fast and became crowded. New things like radios, movies, and cars became popular. In 1927, Walter Chrysler’s car company became one of the biggest in the United States. Soon after, the economy was good, and many tall buildings were built in New York City. The Chrysler Building was built during this time.

Development

The Chrysler Building was planned by a man named William Reynolds. He wanted to build the tallest building in the world at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street. An architect named William Van Alen designed a tall building with many new ideas. But Reynolds couldn’t finish the project.

Walter Chrysler bought the plans and land in 1928. He worked with Van Alen to make the building taller. They added a special spire on top, which made it the tallest building in the world when it was finished in 1930. The building had many unique designs inspired by Chrysler’s cars.

Competition for "world's tallest building" title

While the Chrysler Building was being built, another building called 40 Wall Street was also being built. Both tried to be the tallest. Van Alen secretly added a tall spire to the Chrysler Building, making it taller than 40 Wall Street. But soon after, the Empire State Building was built, which became the tallest.

Completion

The Chrysler Building opened in May 1930. It was the tallest building in the world for a short time. Even though it lost the title, it is still famous for its unique design and history.

Use

Over the years, the Chrysler Building has had many owners and tenants. It has been renovated several times to keep it in good condition. Today, it remains a famous landmark in New York City.

Chrysler Center

Chrysler Center is a group of buildings next to the famous Chrysler Building. It includes the Chrysler Building East and the Chrysler Trylons commercial area. The Chrysler Building East was renovated between 1998 and 2000. It is a tall building with 32 floors and a new blue glass outside look.

The Chrysler Trylons is a special three-story shopping area with three tall, triangle-shaped glass parts called “trylons.” These trylons are supported by strong steel frames and have reflective glass in between. The whole renovation project cost about one hundred million dollars and received several awards for being energy-efficient and well-designed.

Tenants

In January 1930, Chrysler Corporation opened offices in the Chrysler Building during Automobile Show Week. The building had a showroom for Chrysler cars, a lounge, and a theater for films about their products. Other big companies that rented space there included Time, Inc. and Texaco oil. Later, Time moved to Rockefeller Center in 1937, and in 1946, CBS put television equipment on top of the building.

Many companies have moved in and out of the Chrysler Building over the years. Today, many companies rent space there because of the building's famous history.

Some well-known companies with offices in the Chrysler Building today include:

Impact

Reception

When the Chrysler Building was finished, people had different opinions about it. Some people loved it as a wonderful example of modern architecture, calling it a "monument." Others thought it was too showy or strange. Over time, more people began to see its value, calling it one of the most exciting and beautiful skyscrapers ever built.

As icon

The Chrysler Building is one of the most famous buildings in New York City and is loved for its Art Deco style. It has appeared in many movies and is often mentioned as a favorite by architects and fans of architecture. Its unique design has inspired buildings around the world.

In media

The Chrysler Building shows up in many movies set in New York, even if it’s not always the main focus. It has been part of famous films like King Kong, The Wiz, and Spider-Man, among others. It has also been featured in TV shows and video games, making it a well-known part of popular culture. Famous photographers have also taken pictures of the building, helping it become an iconic image of New York City.

Main article: Chrysler Building

Main articles: Art Deco architecture, Art Deco architecture of New York City, History of New York City

Further information: List of tallest buildings in New York City, List of tallest buildings in the United States, World's tallest buildings