For broad comparision..........other than the empire state building.......just skyscapers, not lady liberty, the numerous sports arenas, etc.......that dott the world's greatest city........another famous NYC building, traditionally speaking is..

For 339 precious days in the 1930s, the Chrysler Building was the tallest structure in the world. In the lead up to the building’s completion, that was the prize that its owner, automobile entrepreneur Walter P. Chrysler, was chasing. Though it might have been a brief stay at the top, attraction to the building has proven to extend beyond just the year its height was particularly impressive. The Chrysler Building is now widely regarded as an Art Deco masterpiece, and its steel ornamentation is a welcome reminder of a different era in New York. Below, we detail everything you should know about the beloved structure—from its architectural details to how you can experience it for yourself.

History of the Chrysler Building

The story of the Chrysler Building begins not with Walter P. Chrysler, whom the building is named after, but with an altogether different figure. William H. Reynolds, a Brooklyn developer and politician known at the time for building Dreamland Park in Coney Island, was at the helm of the project in its early days. Reynolds began renting the land from Cooper Union college, which still owns the plot the building stands on, in 1921. He then began discussions for a new structure with architect William Van Alen that same year. According to The Chrysler Building: Creating a New York Icon, Day by Day, Reynolds “asked him to design an 808-foot skyscraper with an illuminated glass dome for the 42nd Street site” in 1928.