The Chrysler Building remains one of America's most beautiful skyscrapers and a grand evocation of Jazz Age New York. But this architectural tribute to the automobile is also the greatest reminder of a furious construction surge that transformed the city in the 1920s.
After World War I, New York became newly prosperous, one of the undisputed business capitals of the world. The tallest building was the Woolworth Building, but the city's rise in prominence demanded new, taller towers, taking advantage of improvements in steel-frame construction and a clever 'wedding cake' zoning law that allowed for ever-higher buildings.
Into this world came William Van Alen and H. Craig Severance, two former architectural partners who had unamicably separated and were now designing rival skyscrapers. Each man wanted to make the tallest building in the world.
But Van Alan had the upper hand, backed by one of America's most famous businessmen -- Walter Chrysler. His automobiles were the coolest, sleekest vehicles in the marketplace. His brand required a skyscraper of radical design and surprising height.
In 1930, the Chrysler became the tallest building in the world, a title it held until the Empire State Building.
Just ten years ago, the Chrysler Building was the fourth tallest in New York City. Today, however, it's the thirteenth tallest building in the city. And that's because of a new skyscraper surge shaping the city's skyline, with supertalls making the skyscrapers of old feel very small in comparison.
It can be bewildering to see the skyline change so rapidly. But that's exactly how New Yorkers felt exactly one century ago.
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#323 The Bowery Wizards: A History of Tattooed New York
#322 Nickelodeons and Movie Palaces: New York and the Film Industry 1893-1920
#321 Lauren Bacall ... At Home At The Dakota Apartments
#320 Hart Island: The Loneliest Place in New York
#319 The Tale of Charging Bull and Fearless Girl
#318 Moonstruck: That's Amore!
#317 Vaccinated: New York and the Polio Outbreak
#316 Jenny Lind at Castle Garden
#315 Abandoned Pantheon: The Hall of Fame for Great Americans
#314 Tillie Hart - The Holdout of London Terrace
#313 The Straw Hat Riots of 1922
#312 Has Jack the Ripper Come to Town? A Gilded Age Hysteria
#311 Uprising: The Shirtwaist Strike of 1909
#310 1918: The Harlem Hellfighters
#309 What Gets Saved? Landmarks & Historic Districts Explained
#308 Andrew Carnegie and New York's Public Libraries
#307 The Holland Tunnel: The Wonder of the Jazz Age
#306 Just Desserts: The Origins of New York Cheesecake, Cannoli and More
#305 Christmas in New York: The Lights of Dyker Heights
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