Chrysler Building

This ex­tra­or­di­nary Art Mo­derne sky­scra­per, de­si­gned by Wil­liam Van Alen, was built in 1928-1930 for Wal­ter Chrys­ler, who de­di­ca­ted it to »world com­merce and in­dus­try.« Until the Em­pire State buil­ding was com­ple­ted a few blocks away, the Chrys­ler was for se­veral months the world's tal­lest buil­ding. Noted for its ma­chine age de­sign and dé­cor, it has gar­go­y­les mo­de­led on win­ged ra­dia­tor caps, em­ble­ma­tic of the au­to­mo­bile that was the foun­da­tion of its builder's for­tune. It is an en­du­ring sym­bol of New York in the Roaring Twen­ties.