Chrysler Building, New York City, 1930 by William Van Alen
Vicky Kosareva and Olga Dunaeva
We chose the picture with Chrysler Building. Why did we do so? This is one of the most noticeable and famous building in the world. Long ago there were the pyramids, the Colossus of Rhodes, the great Medieval and Gothic cathedrals of Europe. But now other buildings have replaced them: the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. They are new wonders of the world. But what do we need them for? What was the reason for creation of these buildings? These questions are interesting for us and the Chrysler Building is an example which can tell a lot about it.
According to Carter B. Horsley, “The Chrysler Building/the Kent Building”, Midtown Book, n. p., n.d.Web. 1 May 2011, the Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. It is 315 meters high and consists of 77 stories. The Chrysler Building was designed by architect William Van Alen.
As Jeff Glasser wrote in his “Top 25 NY Buildings”, New York Archtecture, n.p., n.d. Web.30 2011, one of the most interesting fact about the building is that it was created to beat out Chrysler`s competitors who were also trying to build the tallest building. And they succeeded. But it maintained its status only for eleven months. In the late 1920's, New York became obsessed with breaking records for the world's tallest building. It was the time of rapid industrial development and people started to realize their creative power.
Why is the Chrysler Building so popular among people? Undoubtedly, it is due to its unprecedented decoration and a particular and extraordinary stylization. According to “Chrysler Building”, A View on Cities, n.p., n.d. Web. 28 April 2011, the form of the top of the building is unforgettable: the gargoyles depict Chrysler car ornaments (as Walter Chrysler was the chairman of the Chrysler Automobile Corporation) and the spire is modeled on a radiator grille. Indeed, its design fascinates and amazes.
So the Chrysler Building exemplifies the machine age in the 1920s with all its decorative machine elements reminiscing the industrial revolution. This building is the most striking example and maybe even a symbol of people`s power as if it tells us: “We are human. We can do everything. We can create enormous buildings.” And probably for this reason the directors of the movies choose the Chrysler Building as a target for destruction especially in movies about some natural disasters. As a rule, the disaster begins with a demolishing of this building. For example, in well-known movie Armageddon the asteroid struck the Chrysler Building, split it into 2 parts and it fell down on the ground. Usually such movies centers on the problem of relationship between the nature and humanity. The Chrysler Building represents the whole humanity which put itself on the throne of being. And its demolishing questions the possibility of human`s superiority over the nature. It provokes such questions as: Can we really consider ourselves able to be supreme to the nature? Or we just the nature`s offspring who may be killed by it as well as created.
There is no doubt that Chrysler Building is one of the most interesting and attractive skyscrapers. The first thing that strikes our eyes is that this building has distinctive features of German expressionism. This building is an elegant example of Art Deco architecture and we can definitely say that it’s a National pride of million people. The fact that there was an intense competition in creating the highest building in the world astonishes us most of all. The stainless steel steeple’s height of this skyscraper beats the record of the Eiffel Tower. As for the stainless steel cladding, it has many triangle windows which are illuminated at night. According to the CBS team “Chrysler Building - Piercing the sky”, Web CBS forum, 14 June 2004 < http://www.cbsforum.com/ > whole structure of the building was made of steel. The amazing building has 77 floors and more than 2000 workers helped to build this miracle of art. The top seven floors have rounded ceilings and were added in order to reach 925 feet. Only one floor is suited for radio broadcast stations. According to the article by Carter B. Horsley “The Chrysler Building”, Web The City Review, 1 Nov. 1998 <http://www.thecityreview.com/> we can find some symbolism of Chrysler's autos on the “crown” of it and on the facades which resemble a flying machine if we transform it. Speaking about decoration, there are pictures of the building itself in ceiling paintings. Moreover the entrances are made of Belgian granite. The decoration materials are exotic and astonishing. For instance, red Moroccan marble and yellow Sienna marble. The interior amazes us with its greatness and simplicity at the same time. The hall resembles dark cave with crystal angels which only dispose to the meeting with Valkyrie in your imagination. But you can’t really say that this building is for office staff. Also this building is adorned with eagles in the corners of the 61st floor. According to the article by Megan Sveiven “AD Classics: Chrysler Building / William Van Alen”, Web Arch daily, 22 Dec. 2010 < http://www.archdaily.com/ > the process of building the skyscraper was incredibly fast, nearly four floors each week. There are 5,000 windows, about 3,826,000 bricks and it costs $20,000,000. This building amazes with its magnificence and dimensions under the impression of which vivid images dwell in people’s memory for a long period of time.
Because of architectural achievements a person can find out many interesting and startling facts about nation and their desires. The architecture is the soul of people which is embodied in stone. Tall buildings had inspired National pride and were symbols of American confidence. Americans wanted to show their power and I admire their rigidness and commitment. Undoubtedly a doctrine belief undergoes some changes when a person goes into greater details in history. You begin to see different things at different angles.
