Manhattan’s Iconic Chrysler Building Is on the Market
The Art Deco masterpiece was designed by American architect William Van Alen and commissioned by automotive industry executive Walter Chrysler
One of Manhattan’s Art Deco masterpieces, the Chrysler Building, is currently on the market. Located at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street, the Chrysler was the tallest building in the world for the first 11 months of its existence. Today, it is the 13th-tallest building in New York City and the world’s tallest brick building made with a steel framework.
Constructed between 1929 and 1930, the Chrysler Building was designed by American architect William Van Alen and commissioned by automotive industry executive Walter Chrysler, the founder of the Chrysler Corporation. However, Chrysler did not pay Van Alen for his work on the iconic edifice, given that Chrysler found the design to be too flashy. Van Alen went on to sue Chrysler, winning the lawsuit and never designing another structure ever again.
In 1976, the Chrysler Building was declared a National Historic Landmark, and in 1978, both the exterior and interior were declared New York City landmarks. Additionally, it is currently one of 42 buildings in New York City to have its own ZIP code: 10174. The 1,046-foot-high edifice was initially meant to be a real estate investment for Chrysler’s children. The Chrysler family sold the structure in 1953, and it has since had various owners.
In total, the famed Art Deco skyscraper consists of 3,826,000 bricks, 391,881 rivets, 20,961 tons of structural steel, 10,000 light bulbs, and 3,862 windows. During the construction of the Chrysler Building, upwards of 750 miles of electrical conductor wire were utilized, which is the same distance from New York City to Chicago.
Nirosta stainless steel, developed in Germany, is featured prominently throughout the building’s exterior. This marked the first time this particular stainless steel was used for an American project; it was used to create the window frames, the crown, the exterior ornaments, and the needle of the Chrysler Building.
In his 1935 book The Book of Stainless Steels: Corrosion Resisting and Heat Resisting Alloys, author Ernest Edgar Thum wrote of Van Alen’s decision to use Nirosta stainless steel, “The use of permanently bright metal was of greatest aid in the carrying of rising lines and the diminishing circular forms in the roof treatment, so as to accentuate the gradual upward swing until it literally dissolves into the sky…”
The Chrysler is currently for sale due to its previous owners, real estate investment firm RFR Holdings, not paying their rent. Cooper Union, which owns the land beneath the skyscraper, has since hired Savills, a British real estate firm, to sell the edifice.