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Chrysler Building
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chrysler Building was the world's tallest building from 27 May 1930 to 1931.[I]
Record height
Preceded by 40 Wall Street
Surpassed by Empire State Building
General information
Location 405 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, NY, United States
Status Complete
Constructed 1928-1930
Use Office
Height
Antenna or spire 318.9 m (1,046 ft)
Roof 282.0 m (925 ft)
Top floor 274.0 m (899 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 77 [1]
Floor area 1,195,000 sq ft (111,000 m2)
Elevators 32
Companies involved
Architect(s) William Van Alen
Owner
Abu Dhabi Investment Council (90%)
Tishman Speyer (10%)
^ Fully habitable, self-supported, from main entrance to highest structural or architectural top; see the list of tallest buildings in the world for other listings.
Chrysler Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Coordinates: 73°58′31.08″W / 40.7517°N 73.9753°W / 40.7517; -73.9753Coordinates: 73°58′31.08″W / 40.7517°N 73.9753°W / 40.7517; -73.9753
Architectural style(s): Art Deco
Governing body: Local
Added to NRHP: 1976[2]
Designated NHL: December 8, 1976[3]
NRHP Reference#: 75001237
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at 319 metres (1,047 ft),[4][5] it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931. After the destruction of the World Trade Center, it was again the second-tallest building in New York City until December 2007, when the spire was raised on the 365.8-metre (1,200 ft) Bank of America Tower, pushing the Chrysler Building into third position. In addition, The New York Times Building which opened in 2007, is exactly level with the Chrysler Building in height.[6]
The Chrysler Building is a classic example of Art Deco architecture and considered by many contemporary architects to be one of the finest buildings in New York City. In 2007, it was ranked ninth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.[7]
History
The Chrysler Building was designed by architect William Van Alen for a project of Walter P. Chrysler.[8] When the ground breaking occurred on September 19, 1928, there was an intense competition in New York City to build the world's tallest skyscraper.[9][10] Despite a frantic pace (the building was built at an average rate of four floors per week), no workers died during the construction of this skyscraper.[11]
Design beginnings
Van Alen's original design for the skyscraper called for a decorative jewel-like glass crown. It also featured a base in which the showroom windows were tripled in height and topped by twelve stories with glass-wrapped corners, creating an impression that the tower appeared physically and visually light as if floating on mid-air.[12] The height of the skyscraper was also originally designed to be 246 metres (807 ft).[11] However, the design proved to be too advanced and costly for building contractor William H. Reynolds, who disapproved of Van Alen's original plan.[13] The design and lease were then sold to Walter P. Chrysler, who worked with Van Alen and redesigned the skyscraper for additional stories; it was eventually revised to be 282 metres (925 ft) tall.[11] As Walter Chrysler was the chairman of the Chrysler Corporation,[11] various architectural details and especially the building's gargoyles were modeled after Chrysler automobile products like the hood ornaments of the Plymouth; they exemplify the machine age in the 1920s (see below).[14][15]
Construction
Construction commenced on September 19, 1928.[11] In total, almost 400,000 rivets were used[11] and approximately 3,826,000 bricks were manually laid, to create the non-loadbearing walls of the skyscraper.[16] Contractors, builders and engineers were joined by other building-services experts to coordinate construction.
Prior to its completion, the building stood about even with a rival project at 40 Wall Street, designed by H. Craig Severance. Severance increased the height of his project and then publicly claimed the title of the world's tallest building[17] (this distinction excluded structures that were not fully habitable, such as the Eiffel Tower[18]). In response, Van Alen obtained permission for a 56.3-metre (185 ft) long spire[19] and had it secretly constructed inside the frame of the building. The spire was delivered to the site in 4 different sections.[20] On October 23, 1929, the bottom section of the spire was hoisted onto the top of the building's dome and lowered into the 66th floor of the building. The other remaining sections of the spire were hoisted and riveted to the first one in sequential order in just 90 minutes.[21]
Completion
Upon completion, May 28, 1930,[11] the added height of the spire allowed the Chrysler Building to surpass 40 Wall Street as the tallest building in the world and the Eiffel Tower as the tallest structure. It was the first man-made structure to stand taller than 1,000 feet (305 m). Van Alen's satisfaction in these accomplishments was likely muted by Walter Chrysler's later refusal to pay the balance of his architectural fee.[8] Less than a year after it opened to the public on May 27, 1931, the Chrysler Building was surpassed in height by the Empire State Building, but the Chrysler Building is still the world's tallest steel-supported brick building.[22][23] (The world's tallest brick building without steel is St. Martin's Church in Landshut begun in 1389.)[citation needed]
Property
The east building wall of the base out of which the tower rises runs at a slant to the Manhattan street grid, following a property line that predated the Commissioners' Plan of 1811.[24] The land on which the Chrysler Building stands was donated to The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art,[25] a private college that offers every admitted student a full tuition scholarship, in 1902. The land was originally leased to William H. Reynolds, but when he was unable to raise money for the project, the building and the rights to the land were acquired by Walter P. Chrysler in 1928.[25] The land continues to be owned by the college.[26] Contrary to popular belief, the Chrysler Corporation was never involved in the construction or ownership of the Chrysler Building and was a project of Walter P. Chrysler for his children.[8] The ownership of the building itself has changed several times. The Chrysler family sold the building in 1947. The Chrysler Corporation moved out in the 1950s, and in 1957 it was purchased by real-estate moguls Sol Goldman and Alex DiLorenzo, and owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. The lobby was refurbished and the facade renovated in 1978–1979.[27] The building was owned by Jack Kent Cooke, a Washington, D.C. investor, in 1979. The spire underwent a restoration that was completed in 1995. In 1998, Tishman Speyer Properties and the Travelers Insurance Group bought the Chrysler Building, at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, and the adjoining Kent Building in 1997 for about $220 million from a consortium of banks and the estate of Jack Kent Cooke. Tishman Speyer Properties had negotiated a 150 year lease on the land from Cooper Union before 1997, and continues to hold the land lease.[28]
In 2001, a 75% stake in the building was sold, for US$ 300 million, to TMW, the German arm of an Atlanta-based investment fund.[29] On June 11, 2008 it was reported that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council was in negotiations to buy TMW's 75% economic interest, and a 15% interest from Tishman Speyer Properties in the building, and a share of the Trylons retail structure next door for US$ 800 million.[30] On July 9, 2008 it was announced that the transaction had been completed, and that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council was now the 90% owner of the building.[28][31]