Construction Workers on the Chrysler Building 1929 1930

[Donkees]

The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco–style skyscraper located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood on the East Side of Manhattan, New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue near Midtown Manhattan. At 1,046 feet (318.9 m), the structure was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931.[6][12] It is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel framework. As of 2019, the Chrysler is the 11th-tallest building in the city, tied with The New York Times Building.[13]

Originally a project of real estate developer and former New York State Senator William H. Reynolds, the building was constructed by Walter Chrysler, the head of the Chrysler Corporation, and served as the corporation's headquarters from 1930 until the mid-1950s. The Chrysler Building's construction was characterized by a competition with 40 Wall Street and the Empire State Building to become the world's tallest building. Although the Chrysler Building was built and designed specifically for the car manufacturer, the corporation did not pay for its construction and never owned it; rather, Walter Chrysler decided to pay for it himself so that his children could inherit it.

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. 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. 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.

[lillypaddle]

1. I could only watch a little of this

as my palms were starting to sweat and I had vertigo. Jeez, soooo high up!

[onlyadream]

2. This is my favorite building in the world

I’m sad that One Vanderbilt now overshadows the Chrysler building when looking west down 43rd and 42nd street. I feel bad for those on the other side who now don’t have a view of this iconic building, like they used to.

A fun fact about this building is how it was competing with the Empire State building for height and it had the spire hidden in the top floor so it can be raised up and installed as a surprise (adding height).

[George II]

3. That building helped fund my college education. Years before it was built the land it's on....

....was donated to my college, and what they received for the lease ever since has enabled them, in part, to provide tuition free college educations.

[masmdu]

6. Curious as to your college...

[George II]

7. Cooper Union, their School of Engineering

[onlyadream]

8. That's a neat little fact!

Just wondering how many years it covered tuition for.

[George II]

9. Not sure how much specifically the rent covers from that building....

But there has been a significant endowment fund maintained since it was established by Peter Cooper back in the 1860s.

Over the years there have been some rather large contributions. I remember just a month after starting (waaaay back in 1966!) the Princess of Denmark died and left the school $4 million, which was the largest single donation up until that time (she was related to Peter Cooper or one of his business associates). Also, he was friends with Andrew Carnegie, who contributed a lot through his foundations, as well as support from other foundations (Rockefeller, Ford, Bill Gates, etc) and many corporations.

Tuition was free for over 150 years, then in 2014 they instituted a $44,000 annual tuition (half of that was "forgiven" as a scholarship) which caused an uproar. Just about two years ago they announced that they'll be phasing out tuition over the next several years, going back to zero tuition.

[George II]

12. You got me thinking, so checked into it. Back in 1973 the rent was $1.9M for the Chrysler Building..

I'm sure that's gone up a lot, that was almost 50 years ago.

[zentrum]

4. Thanks so much for posting this!

[packman]

5. Christ, how many fingers were lost doing that shit

[PatrickforB]

10. What is absolutely amazing to me is that NO workers died building the Chrysler Building.

None.

Because my hands got sweaty just watching that video, and I know that if I tried to climb out on some narrow scaffolding a thousand feet in the air, I would freeze until I got so tired I would fall off, and take that long trip down to the pavement.

This is scarier than the worst horror show, at least to me.

[Donkees]

11. Philippe Petit's Twin Towers high wire walk was the scariest