The Chrysler Building

If you're standing at East 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, the northeast corner seems to have just another midtown office building. 

Until you look up, above the crowds and traffic, and see that the building keeps going up and up and at the top is the famous design that sits atop the Chrysler Building, a landmark of Manhattan. 

The Chrysler Building might generally be on the second tier when listing the iconic structures of New York City, after the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, and Statue of Liberty, for example. But New Yorkers (at least the ones I know) generally consider it their favorite and perhaps the most beautiful building in the city. 

The building is certainly iconic and will be put on any such list, but the Empire State Building is after all a little taller, has a cooler name and had a giant ape climb it. But on substance the Chrysler Building hold its own, looking elegant and classic in all its Art Deco glory. 

Also, its name isn't so bad since the Chrysler company didn't pay for the naming rights like a modern sports arena but instead its 1928-1930 construction was actually funded by Walter P. Chrysler, the founder of the company. Incidentally, he paid for construction himself so that he could pass it on to his children. It was the Chrysler Corporation's headquarters from 1930 to the mid-'50s but it never owned the building, which was the tallest in the world for 11 months until the Empire State Building was completed in 1931.

Perhaps another strike against the building, at least for tourism, is that only the lobby is open to the public since it is a fully operational business building. I would imagine that this keeps it from having a greater status among visitors, but maybe the demand wouldn't be there anyway: after you go to the top of the Empire State Building, how many more buildings do you need to go up for the view?

The Chrysler Building's lobby, though, is definitely worth a visit if you're in the area (only one subway on the east side also doesn't help for accessibility). There is beauty in all its details, from the lights along the walls to the mail slot and elevators made from several different types of wood. 

The elevators are not accessible to the general public, but even from that outer view they are stunning to look at.

There is also a big mural that spans the entire lobby ceiling, Transport and Human Endeavor by Edward Trumbull. Part of it shows the exterior of the Chrysler Building, along with a nearby compass and scenes of laborers hard at work. It also shows airplanes flying across oceans and continents, including the Spirit of St. Louis, which was flown by Charles Lindbergh from Long Island to Paris in May 1927 as the first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic. 

 

As you might expect, the entrance on Lexington Avenue is also very impressive.

There are also two elegant side entrances that go to 42nd and 43rd Streets, though they are not quite as grand as the main entrance. 

Although only the lobby is open to the public, the Chrysler Building is certainly worth a visit and should not be forgotten on the list of New York icons.