Chrysler Building 1928 - 30 William Van Alen. An example of geometric deco

Data on the Chrysler Building and its architect William van Alen derived from Great Buildings Online

Location New York, New York

Date 1928 to 1930

Style Art Deco

Notes Stainless steel metal ornamented top. Automobile-derived ornamental details. Elegant lobby.

Discussion

Chrysler Building Commentary

"Art Deco in France found its American equivalent in the design of the New York skyscrapers of the 1920s. The Chrysler Building...was one of the most accomplished essays in the style."

-John Julius Norwich, ed. The World Atlas of Architecture. p366.

"The design, originally drawn up for building contractor William H. Reynolds, was finally sold to Walter P. Chrysler, who wanted a provocative building which would not merely scrape the sky but positively pierce it. Its 77 floors briefly making it the highest building in the world-at least until the Empire State Building was completed-it became the star of the New York skyline, thanks above all to its crowning peak. In a deliberate strategy of myth generation, Van Alen planned a dramatic moment of revelation: the entire seven-storey pinnacle, complete with special-steel facing, was first assembled inside the building, and then hoisted into position through the roof opening and anchored on top in just one and a half hours. All of a sudden it was there-a sensational fait accompli."

-Peter Gossel and Gabriele Leuthauser. Architecture in the Twentieth Century. p209.

"One of the first uses of stainless steel over a large exposed building surface. The decorative treatment of the masonry walls below changes with every set-back and includes story-high basket-weave designs, radiator-cap gargoyles, and a band of abstract automobiles. The lobby is a modernistic composition of African marble and chrome steel."

-Elliot Willensky and Norval White. AIA Guide to New York City. p121.

Client: William P. Chrysler, the automotive magnate. The height to the top of its spire is 1048 feet.

Address 405 Lexington Ave. (between 42nd and 43rd streets) New York, New York 405 Lexington Avenue

Sources on Chrysler Building

Judith Dupre. Skyscrapers. Black Dog and Leventhal, June, 1996. ISBN 1-8848-2245-2. - A fun and informative gift book in skyscraper format, 18" tall and 7.5" wide, with perfect pictures and key information on tallest buildings over the decades, up to the 1998 Petronas Towers. Available at Amazon.com

Peter Gossel and Gabriele Leuthauser. Architecture in the Twentieth Century. Germany: Benedikt Taschen Verlag, 1991. ISBN 3-8228-0550-5. exterior photo, p208. discussion p209.

Toshino Nakamura, ed. "Chrysler Building, 1930", A+U Extra Edition. April 1987. p97. drawing of ground floor plan, p98. drawing of floors 6-10 plans, p98. drawing of floors 51 through 55 plans, p98. drawing of exterior wall detail, p99. drawing of entry detail, p101.

Toshino Nakamura, ed. "New York Art Deco Skyscrapers", A+U Extra Edition. April 1987. p5. color drawing of exterior perspective, p7. top center drawing on page [MW]

John Julius Norwich, ed. The World Atlas of Architecture. New York: Portland House, 1988. ISBN 0-517-66875-0. discussion p366. Reprint edition: Da Capo Press, April 1991. ISBN 0-3068-0436-0. - An accessible, inspiring and informative overview of world architecture, with lots of full-color cutaway drawings, and clear explanations.

Natalie Shivers. Chrysler Building. Princeton Architectural Press, 1999. ISBN 1-8782-7124-5. - A new book on the Chyrysler Building, coming soon. Reserve one at Amazon.com

Marcus Whiffen and Frederick Koeper. American Architecture, Volume 2. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1984. exterior photo of top, f 263, p 327. - An excellent survey of American architecture. Reprint

Elliot Willensky and Norval White. AIA Guide to New York City. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1988. ISBN 0-15-104040-0. NA 735.N5A78. discussion and details, p121.

Architect William Van Alen

Works Chrysler Building, at New York, New York, 1928 to 1930.  

Biography William Van Alen

(b. Brooklyn, New York 1883; d. 1954)

William Van Alen was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1883. While he attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, he worked in the office of Clarence True. He also worked for several firms in New York, before he won the 1908 Lloyd Warren Fellowship which allowed him to study in Europe. In Paris, Van Alen studied in the atelier of Victor Laloux at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

In 1911, Van Alen returned to New York, where he formed a partnership with H. Craig Severance. The partnership became known for its distinctive multistory commercial structures which abandoned the historic formula of base, shaft, and capital. The partnership dissolved around 1925 and Van Alen continued to practice on his own in New York.

Van Alen is best known for his design of the Chrysler Building, often praised as the greatest example of Art Deco style skyscrapers and the perfect monument to American capitalism. Although the Chrysler Building is now highly regarded, his career suffered after its completion due to accusactions made against him by the powerful client, William P. Chrysler. He died in 1954.

Adolf K Placzek. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects. Vol. 1. London: The Free Press, 1982. ISBN 0-02-925000-5. NA40.M25.