Chrysler Building

The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, completed in 1930. Its stainless-steel crown and spire briefly made it the world’s tallest building.

Art Deco: An international design style that flourished between the 1920s and 1940s, marked by geometric forms and rich ornament. The building is a landmark expression of Art Deco architecture.
Race for the sky: A competition among developers to construct ever-taller skyscrapers, especially prominent in New York during the 1920s. The Chrysler Building’s height was shaped by this contest for prestige.
Steel frame: A building structure in which a skeleton of steel columns and beams carries floors and resists loads. The tower’s steel skeleton supports its height while leaving office interiors largely open.
Tallest building in the world: A title given to the building with the greatest architectural height at a given time. The Chrysler Building held this title from 1930 until the Empire State Building surpassed it.
William Van Alen: An American architect best known for designing the Chrysler Building in New York. Van Alen shaped the building’s stepped silhouette and ornamental crown.
Empire State Building: A 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, completed in 1931 and taller than the Chrysler Building. It surpassed the Chrysler Building soon after completion and ended its height record.
Setback (architecture): A step inward in a building’s upper stories, often required by zoning or used to shape a silhouette. Successive setbacks define the Chrysler Building’s narrowing upper mass.
Art Deco architecture: An architectural style using geometric forms, streamlined massing, and decorative materials associated with Art Deco design. The tower became one of the style’s most recognizable architectural landmarks.
Walter P. Chrysler: An American automobile executive who founded the Chrysler Corporation and commissioned its Manhattan headquarters. The building’s namesake and patron tied its design to the automobile company.
New York City: The largest city in the United States, located at the mouth of the Hudson River. Manhattan’s dense commercial growth made the city a stage for the skyscraper race.

Linked from 5 pages