The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper in the Turtle Bay neighborhood on the East Side of Manhattan, New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. At 1,046 feet (319 m), it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel framework, and was the world's tallest building for 11 months after its completion in 1930. As of 2019, the Chrysler is the 11th-tallest building in the city, tied with The New York Times Building.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. The construction of the Chrysler Building, an early skyscraper, 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; Walter Chrysler decided to fund the entire cost personally so his children could inherit it. An annex was completed in 1952, and the building was sold by the Chrysler family the next year, with numerous subsequent owners.
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.
1930May, 27
The 1,046 feet (319 m) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public.
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Events on 1930
- 12Mar
Salt March
Mahatma Gandhi begins the Salt March, a 200-mile march to the sea to protest the British monopoly on salt in India - 6Apr
Salt Satyagraha
Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire," beginning the Salt Satyagraha. - 7Jul
Hoover Dam
Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam). - 6Sep
Hipólito Yrigoyen
Democratically elected Argentine president Hipólito Yrigoyen is deposed in a military coup. - 24Oct
Getúlio Vargas
A bloodless coup d'état in Brazil ousts Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa, the last President of the First Republic. Getúlio Vargas is then installed as "provisional president".