The site bordered the old Boston Post Road, which predated, and ran aslant of, the Manhattan street grid established by the Commissioners' Plan of 1811.
The Chrysler Building was appraised at $14 million, but was exempt from city taxes per an 1859 law that gave tax exemptions to sites owned by the Cooper Union.
The land was donated to The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1902.
The Chrysler Building was built as part of an ongoing building boom that resulted in the city having the world's tallest building from 1908 to 1974.
Prior to his involvement in planning the building, Reynolds was best known for developing Coney Island's Dreamland amusement park. When the amusement park was destroyed by fire in 1911, Reynolds turned his attention to Manhattan real estate, where he set out to build the tallest building in the world. In 1921, Reynolds rented a large plot of land at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street with the intention of building a tall building on the site.
The 1916 Zoning Resolution restricted the height that street-side exterior walls of New York City buildings could rise before needing to be setback from the street.
There are setbacks on floors 16, 18, 23, 28, and 31, making the building compliant with the 1916 Zoning Resolution.
The following year, Chrysler was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year". The economic boom of the 1920s and speculation in the real estate market fostered a wave of new skyscraper projects in New York City.
The "Race into the Sky", as popular media called it at the time, was representative of the country's optimism in the 1920s, which helped fuel the building boom in major cities.
Prior to his involvement in planning the building, Reynolds was best known for developing Coney Island's Dreamland amusement park. When the amusement park was destroyed by fire in 1911, Reynolds turned his attention to Manhattan real estate, where he set out to build the tallest building in the world. In 1921, Reynolds rented a large plot of land at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street with the intention of building a tall building on the site.
Consumer goods such as radio, cinema, and the automobile became widespread. In 1927, Walter Chrysler's automotive company, the Chrysler Corporation, became the third-largest car manufacturer in the United States, behind Ford and General Motors.
In 1927, after several years of delays, Reynolds hired the architect William Van Alen to design a forty-story building there.
The rivalry ended up being decisive for the design of the future Chrysler Building, since Severance's more traditional architectural style would otherwise have restrained Van Alen's more modern outlook. ==== Refinement of designs ==== By February 2, 1928, the proposed building's height had been increased to 54 stories, which would have made it the tallest building in Midtown.
Because of the elevated spur's removal, real estate speculators believed that Lexington Avenue would become the "Broadway of the East Side", causing a ripple effect that would spur developments farther east. In April 1928, Reynolds signed a 67-year lease for the plot and finalized the details of his ambitious project.
These plans were approved in June 1928.
He instead devised an alternate design for the Reynolds Building, which was published in August 1928.
This design almost exactly reflected the shape, setbacks, and the layout of the windows of the current building, but with a different dome. ====Final plans and start of construction==== With the design complete, groundbreaking for the Reynolds Building took place on September 19, 1928, but Reynolds did not have the means to carry on construction.
Reynolds sold the plot, lease, plans, and architect's services to Walter Chrysler for $2 million on October 15, 1928.
At one point, Chrysler had requested that Van Alen shorten the design by ten floors, but reneged on that decision after realizing that the increased height would also result in increased publicity. From late 1928 to early 1929, modifications to the design of the dome continued.
In his autobiography, Chrysler says he suggested that his building be taller than the Eiffel Tower. Meanwhile, excavation of the new building's foundation began in mid-November 1928 and was completed in mid-January 1929, when bedrock was reached.
Shortly thereafter Ohrstrom modified his project to have 60 floors, but it was still below Woolworth and the 808-foot Chrysler Building project as announced in 1928.
At one point, Chrysler had requested that Van Alen shorten the design by ten floors, but reneged on that decision after realizing that the increased height would also result in increased publicity. From late 1928 to early 1929, modifications to the design of the dome continued.
In March 1929, the press published details of an "artistic dome" that had the shape of a giant thirty-pointed star, which would be crowned by a sculpture five meters high.
In his autobiography, Chrysler says he suggested that his building be taller than the Eiffel Tower. Meanwhile, excavation of the new building's foundation began in mid-November 1928 and was completed in mid-January 1929, when bedrock was reached.
Construction of the building proper began on January 21, 1929.
The steel structure was "a few floors" high by June 1929, 35 floors high by early August, and completed by September.
The Chrysler Building's height officially surpassed the Woolworth's on October 16, 1929, thereby becoming the world's tallest structure. ====Competition for "world's tallest building" title==== The same year that the Chrysler Building's construction started, banker George L.
The Empire State Building, on 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, entered the competition in 1929.
The race was defined by at least five other proposals, although only the Empire State Building would survive the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
The 40 Wall Street tower was revised from to 925 feet in April 1929, which would make it the world's tallest.
Construction of 40 Wall Street began in May 1929 at a frantic pace, and it was completed twelve months later. In response, Van Alen obtained permission for a spire and had it secretly constructed inside the frame of his building.
On October 23, 1929, one week after surpassing the Woolworth Building's height and one day before the catastrophic Wall Street Crash of 1929 started, the spire was assembled.
The 31st-floor contains gargoyles and replicas of the 1929 Chrysler [ornament|radiator caps], the 61st-floor eagles, a nod to America's national bird. The Chrysler Building uses bright "Nirosta" stainless steel extensively in its design, an austenitic alloy developed in Germany by Krupp (a German acronym for nichtrostender Stahl, meaning "non-rusting steel").
In 1929, the American Society for Testing Materials created an inspection committee to study its performance, which regarded the Chrysler Building as the best location to do so; a subcommittee examined the building's panels every five years until 1960, when the inspections were canceled because the panels had shown minimal deterioration. === Form === The Chrysler Building's height and legally mandated setbacks influenced Van Alen in his design.
The travel guide Frommer's gave the building an "exceptional" recommendation, with author Pauline Frommer writing, "In the Chrysler Building we see the roaring-twenties version of what Alan Greenspan called 'irrational exuberance'—a last burst of corporate headquarter building before stocks succumbed to the thudding crash of 1929." === As icon === The Chrysler Building appears in several films set in New York and is widely considered one of the most positively acclaimed buildings in the city.
In December 1929, Walter Chrysler hired the famed Margaret Bourke-White to capture it for publicity purposes.
At , it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel framework, and was the world's tallest building for 11 months after its completion in 1930.
In addition, the Chanin Building is to the southwest, diagonally across Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street. == History == === Context === In the mid-1920s, New York's metropolitan area surpassed London's as the world's most populous metropolitan area and its population exceeded ten million by the early 1930s.
Van Alen, who witnessed the process from the street along with its engineers and Walter Chrysler, compared the experience to watching a butterfly leaving its cocoon. In "The Structure and Metal Work of the Chrysler Building", an article published in the October 1930 edition of Architectural Forum, Van Alen explained the design and construction of the crown and needle: The steel tip brought the Chrysler Building to a height of , greatly exceeding 40 Wall Street's height.
The building was formally opened on May 27, 1930, in a ceremony that coincided with the 42nd Street Property Owners and Merchants Association's meeting that year.
The lobby also contains four elevator banks, each with a different design. The ceiling contains a mural named "Transport and Human Endeavor", commissioned from Edward Trumbull in 1930.
The central image of the mural is a "muscled giant whose brain directs his boundless energy to the attainment of the triumphs of this mechanical era", according to a 1930 pamphlet that advertised the building.
Work on the new entrance started in March 1930 and it opened along with the Chrysler Building two months later. The basement also had a "hydrozone water bottling unit" that would filter tap water into drinkable water for the building's tenants.
It opened in July 1930 with some three hundred members, all wealthy males who formed the city's elite.
This renovation has won several awards and commendations, including an Energy Star rating from the Environmental Protection Agency; a LEED Gold designation; and the Skyscraper Museum Outstanding Renovation Award of 2001. == Tenants == The Chrysler Corporation moved into the building as an anchor tenant in 1930.
the epitome of modern business life, stand[ing] for progress in architecture and in modern building methods." An anonymous critic wrote in Architectural Forum October 1930 issue: "The Chrysler...stands by itself, something apart and alone.
Stern wrote that the Chrysler Building was "the most extreme example of the [1920s and 1930s] period's stylistic experimentation", as contrasted with 40 Wall Street and its "thin" detailing.
In 1930, several of her photographs were used in a special report on skyscrapers in the then-new Fortune magazine.
John Raskob realized the 1,050-foot Empire State Building would only be taller than the Chrysler Building, and Raskob was afraid that Walter Chrysler might try to "pull a trick like hiding a rod in the spire and then sticking it up at the last minute." Another revision brought the Empire State Building's roof to , making it the tallest building in the world by far when it opened on May 1, 1931.
This restriction was loosened soon after the Empire State Building opened in 1931, as that building had also been equipped with high-speed elevators.
When the Empire State Building opened in 1931 with two observatories at a higher elevation, the Chrysler observatory lost its clientele. After the observatory closed, it was used to house radio and television broadcasting equipment.
In addition, during a January 1931 dance organized by the Society of Beaux-Arts, six architects, including Van Alen, were photographed while wearing costumes resembling the buildings that each architect designed. The building is also mentioned in the lyrics of several songs, as well as in the number "It's the Hard Knock Life" for the musical Annie.
By August, the building was declared complete, but the New York City Department of Construction did not mark it as finished until February 1932. 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.
The building was supposed to be featured in the 1933 film King Kong, but only makes a cameo at the end thanks to its producers opting for the Empire State Building in a central role.
She took the images from a scaffold high and worked in a 61st-floor studio designed by John Vassos, until she was evicted in 1934.
In 1934, Bourke-White's partner Oscar Graubner took a famous photo called "Margaret Bourke-White atop the Chrysler Building", which depicts her taking a photo of the city's skyline while sitting on one of the 61st-floor eagle ornaments.
The Chrysler Building fared better commercially than the Empire State Building did: by 1935, the Chrysler had already rented 70% of its floor area, while the Empire State had only leased 23% of its area and was popularly derided as the "Empty State Building". The Chrysler Corporation was not involved in the construction or ownership of the Chrysler Building, although it was built and designed for the corporation.
The exhibition, known as the Chrysler Automobile Salon, was near the corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Streets, and opened in 1936.
Needing more office space, Time moved to Rockefeller Center in 1937.
This unique treatment emphasizes the building's height, giving it an other worldly atmosphere reminiscent of the fantastic architecture of Coney Island or the Far East." Television station WCBS-TV (Channel 2) originated its transmission from the top of the Chrysler Building in 1938.
In his autobiography, Chrysler wrote that he wanted to erect the building "so that his sons would have something to be responsible for". === Use === ====20th century==== The Chrysler family inherited the property after the death of Walter Chrysler in 1940, with the property being under the ownership of W.P.
In 1944, the corporation filed plans to build a 38-story annex to the east of the building, at 666 Third Avenue.
Chrysler also had a unit on the 58th through 60th floors, which served as his residence. ===== Observation deck ===== From the building's opening until 1945, it contained a observation deck on the 71st floor, called "Celestial".
In 1949, this was revised to a 32-story annex costing $9 million.
Construction started on the annex in June 1950, and the first tenants started leasing in June 1951.
The 68th floor mainly contained service spaces. In the 1950s and 1960s, members left the Cloud Club for other clubs.
Construction started on the annex in June 1950, and the first tenants started leasing in June 1951.
An annex was completed in 1952, and the building was sold by the Chrysler family the next year, with numerous subsequent owners. When the Chrysler Building opened, there were mixed reviews of the building's design, ranging from views of it as inane and unoriginal to the idea that it was modernist and iconic.
The building itself was completed by 1952, and a sky bridge connecting the two buildings' seventh floors was built in 1959. The family sold the building in 1953 to William Zeckendorf for its assessed price of $18 million.
This International Style building, built in 1952, is high and has 32 floors.
The building itself was completed by 1952, and a sky bridge connecting the two buildings' seventh floors was built in 1959. The family sold the building in 1953 to William Zeckendorf for its assessed price of $18 million.
The 1953 deal included the annex and the nearby Graybar Building, which along with the Chrysler Building sold for a combined $52 million.
Van Alen ended his career as professor of sculpture at the nearby Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and died in 1954.
In 1957, the Chrysler Building, its annex, and the Graybar Building were sold for $66 million to Lawrence Wien's realty syndicate, setting a new record for the largest sale in the city.
The building itself was completed by 1952, and a sky bridge connecting the two buildings' seventh floors was built in 1959. The family sold the building in 1953 to William Zeckendorf for its assessed price of $18 million.
In 1960, the complex was purchased by Sol Goldman and Alex DiLorenzo, who received a mortgage from the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.
In 1929, the American Society for Testing Materials created an inspection committee to study its performance, which regarded the Chrysler Building as the best location to do so; a subcommittee examined the building's panels every five years until 1960, when the inspections were canceled because the panels had shown minimal deterioration. === Form === The Chrysler Building's height and legally mandated setbacks influenced Van Alen in his design.
WCBS-TV transmissions were shifted to the Empire State Building in 1960 in response to competition from RCA's transmitter on that building.
The Chrysler Salon remained operational through at least the 1960s. ==== Elevators ==== There are 32 elevators in the skyscraper, clustered into four banks.
The 68th floor mainly contained service spaces. In the 1950s and 1960s, members left the Cloud Club for other clubs.
In 1961, the building's stainless steel elements, including the needle, crown, gargoyles, and entrance doors, were polished for the first time.
In 2005, a report by The New York Times found that one of the dentists, Charles Weiss, had operated at the clinic's current rooftop location since 1969.
For many years WPAT-FM and WTFM (now WKTU) also transmitted from the Chrysler Building, but their move to the Empire State Building by the 1970s ended commercial broadcasting from the structure. The crown and spire are illuminated by a combination of fluorescent lights framing the crown's distinctive triangular windows and colored floodlights that face toward the building, allowing it to be lit in a variety of schemes for special occasions.
In 1999, the mural was returned to its original state after a restoration that removed the polyurethane coating and filled-in holes added in the 1970s. Presently, the lobby is the only publicly accessible part of the Chrysler Building.
The Chrysler Building was built as part of an ongoing building boom that resulted in the city having the world's tallest building from 1908 to 1974.
A group of ten workers steam-cleaned the facade below the 30th floor, and manually cleaned the portion of the tower above the 30th floor, for a cost of about $200,000. Massachusetts Mutual obtained outright ownership in 1975 after Goldman and DiLorenzo defaulted on the mortgage.
The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1978, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1976. == Site == The Chrysler Building is on the eastern side of Lexington Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets.
The building was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and as a New York City Landmark in 1978, although the city only landmarked the lobby and facade.
Texaco, whose executives comprised most of the Cloud Club's membership, moved to Westchester County in 1977, and the club closed two years later.
Texaco relocated to a more suburban workplace in Purchase, New York, in 1977.
The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1978, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1976. == Site == The Chrysler Building is on the eastern side of Lexington Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets.
In 1978, they devised plans to renovate the facade, heating, ventilation, air‐conditioning, elevators, lobby murals, and Cloud Club headquarters in a $23 million project.
The building was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and as a New York City Landmark in 1978, although the city only landmarked the lobby and facade.
This renovation was completed in 1979.
In September 1979, the building was sold again, this time to entrepreneur and Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke, in a deal that also transferred ownership of the Los Angeles Kings and Lakers to Jerry Buss. The spire underwent a restoration that was completed in 1995.
The V-shaped fluorescent "tube lighting" – hundreds of 480V 40W bulbs framing 120 window openings – was added in 1981, although it had been part of the original design.
Since 1986, the old observatory has housed the office of architects Harvey Morse and Cowperwood Interests.
In September 1979, the building was sold again, this time to entrepreneur and Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke, in a deal that also transferred ownership of the Los Angeles Kings and Lakers to Jerry Buss. The spire underwent a restoration that was completed in 1995.
A 1996 survey of New York architects revealed it as their favorite, and The New York Times described it in 2005 as "the single most important emblem of architectural imagery on the New York skyline".
Moses Preservation Award for 1997.
Cooke died in 1997, and creditors moved to foreclose on the estate's unpaid fees soon after.
Tishman Speyer Properties and the Travelers Insurance Group bought the Chrysler Center in 1997–1998 for about $220 million (equal to $ million in ) from a consortium of banks and the estate of Jack Kent Cooke.
Until 1998, the lights were turned off at 2 a.m., but The New York Observer columnist Ron Rosenbaum convinced Tishman Speyer to keep the lights on until 6 a.m.
In 1998, Tishman Speyer acquired the entire complex and proceeded to renovate it completely over the next two years. The Chrysler Building annex at 666 Third Avenue, also known as the Kent Building at the time, was renovated and renamed Chrysler Building East.
On October 5, 1998, Christie's auctioned the photograph for $96,000.
In 1999, the mural was returned to its original state after a restoration that removed the polyurethane coating and filled-in holes added in the 1970s. Presently, the lobby is the only publicly accessible part of the Chrysler Building.
Cooper Union's name is on the deed. ====21st century==== In 2001, a 75% stake in the building was sold, for US$300 million (equal to $ million in ), to TMW, the German arm of an Atlanta-based investment fund.
This renovation has won several awards and commendations, including an Energy Star rating from the Environmental Protection Agency; a LEED Gold designation; and the Skyscraper Museum Outstanding Renovation Award of 2001. == Tenants == The Chrysler Corporation moved into the building as an anchor tenant in 1930.
Douglas wrote in 2004 that the Chrysler Building "remains one of the most appealing and awe-inspiring of skyscrapers".
In 2005, a report by The New York Times found that one of the dentists, Charles Weiss, had operated at the clinic's current rooftop location since 1969.
A 1996 survey of New York architects revealed it as their favorite, and The New York Times described it in 2005 as "the single most important emblem of architectural imagery on the New York skyline".
Perceptions of the building have slowly evolved into its now being seen as a paragon of the Art Deco architectural style; and in 2007, it was ranked ninth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.
In 2007, the building ranked ninth among 150 buildings in the AIA's List of America's Favorite Architecture. The Chrysler Building is widely heralded as an Art Deco icon.
In June 2008, it was reported that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council was in negotiations to buy TMW's 75% economic interest, a 15% interest from Tishman Speyer Properties in the building, and a share of the Trylons retail structure next door for US$800 million.
In July 2008, it was announced that the transaction had been completed, and that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council was now 90% owner of the building, with Tishman Speyer retaining 10%. From 2010 to 2011, the building's energy, plumbing, and waste management systems were renovated.
In July 2008, it was announced that the transaction had been completed, and that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council was now 90% owner of the building, with Tishman Speyer retaining 10%. From 2010 to 2011, the building's energy, plumbing, and waste management systems were renovated.
Fodor's New York City 2010 described the building as being "one of the great art deco masterpieces" which "wins many a New Yorker's vote for the city's most iconic and beloved skyscraper".
In July 2008, it was announced that the transaction had been completed, and that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council was now 90% owner of the building, with Tishman Speyer retaining 10%. From 2010 to 2011, the building's energy, plumbing, and waste management systems were renovated.
In 2012, the building received a LEED Gold accreditation from the U.S.
Since 2015, the Chrysler Building and other city skyscrapers have been part of the Audubon Society's Lights Out program, turning off their lights during bird migration seasons. === Interior === The interior of the building contains several innovative elements.
Insight Guides' 2016 edition maintains that the Chrysler Building is considered among the city's "most beautiful" buildings.
Green Building Council, which recognized the building's environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. The Abu Dhabi Investment Council and Tishman Speyer put the Chrysler Building on sale again in January 2019.
It was reported in March 2019 that Aby Rosen's RFR Holding LLC, in a joint venture with the Austrian SIGNA Group, had reached an agreement to purchase the Chrysler Building, albeit at a steeply discounted price, for US$150 million. == Design == The Chrysler Building is considered a leading example of Art Deco architecture.
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