May 1

The Chrysler Building In New York.

The Chrysler Building, New York.

Chrysler Building is one of New York’s most iconic structures. The 71st floor remains the highest occupied floor in the Chrysler Building. Many of the building's initial purposes included being an active transmitter for radio and television stations. Longstanding New-York networks would use it for that very purpose.

The Chrysler Building.

The stories above the 71st floor are designed in great part for exterior appearance, functioning mainly as landings for the stairway to the spire. Areas above the 71st floor and do not contain office space. This area is only used to house radio transmitters and other mechanical and electrical equipment. For example, the 73rd floor houses the motors of the elevators and a 56781 liters water tank, of which 13250 liters are reserved for extinguishing fires.

The Chrysler Building.

Chrysler Building New York is an Art Deco skyscraper that stands at 318 meters, including the spire. The top floor is 274 meters above the ground. There are 77 floors and 32 elevators. The cost of Chrysler Building was US$20 million to build.

The Chrysler Building.

Construction finished in 1930, and it was the tallest building in the world for 11 months after. It’s still the world’s tallest brick building with a steel framework.

The Chrysler Building in 1930s.
The Chrysler Building in 1930s.

Architect William Van Alen designed the Chrysler Building tower. Walter Chrysler, the owner of the Chrysler Corporation, funded the construction. The Chrysler family sold the building for US$18 million in 1953.

The Chrysler Building is currently used for office space, which was its original purpose. It was the headquarters for Chrysler until the family sold it.

Only the lobby is open to the public and has beautiful Art Deco designs and red marble walls. The lobby’s ceiling has an Edward Trumbull painting called "Transport and Human Endeavor".

At this moment, about 90% of the building’s ownership is under the Abu Dhabi Investment Council. The Chrysler Building represents international commerce and industry.

The Chrysler Building interior.
The Chrysler Building interior.

The Chrysler Building was an office building project for William H. Reynolds, a real estate developer. He was a former New York State senator. In 1928, the project and lease on the site were taken over by Walter P. Chrysler, the head of the Chrysler Corporation. He took over the building project to grant his sons some responsibilities.

The building is now known for its Art Deco architecture. It has a crown and spire at the top. William Van Alen’s task was to create a visual representation of Art Deco that symbolizes the Chrysler Corporation.

The Chrysler Building.

There are about 50 metal ornaments on five floors of the building’s corners. They resemble gargoyles on Gothic cathedrals. The Chrysler Building gargoyles are like waterspouts on classical buildings designed to direct water far from the foundation.

There were over 4 million rivets and 10000 bulbs used in this building. Riveting later became a thing of the past, and welding became mainstream. The riveting on the Chrysler Building remains intact and in pristine condition.

A team of experts conducts regular supervision and monitoring. All the decorative patterns on the tilework, murals, and furniture follow the principles of Art Deco. The style included a foundation, fountain, sunburst, chevron, and geometric patterns.

There are horizontal black-and-white elements between floors. The aerodynamic eagle heads and radiator caps with wings reference the Chrysler emblem.

The structure has a steel frame and about 50 exterior metal ornaments resembling gargoyles. Some ornaments are eagles, meant to look like Chrysler hood ornaments. The Chrysler building has 3862 exterior windows.

The most notable architecture is the top of the building, featuring the crown and spire. The crown has seven arches layered on each other like a wedding cake. The top floors serve little purpose besides appearance.

The large spire was concealed inside the crown during construction. It hid the height of the building for as long as possible. The spire is 56.69m, and it wouldn’t have been the tallest building at the time without it.

The Chrysler Building.
The Chrysler Building in 2024.

The Empire State Building was completed in 1931, only 11 months after the Chrysler Building. The two were competing for the tallest building as construction was going on. After the Empire State Building was completed, it became the world’s tallest building at the time, surpassing the Chrysler Building.