The Chrysler Building - 405 Lexington Avenue @ 42nd St - by William Van Alen

[NoyokA]

Rate the Chrysler Building's Architecture.

http://e.1asphost.com/guide498/Chrysler.html

[Gulcrapek]

I voted 9. It's great, especially the crown, but there's something I can't explain that irks me.

[Rob]

I gave it a 10! Together with the petronas towers and empire state building, this is the most beautiful building i've ever seen.

[BPC]

Hands down the best building in NYC, and probably the best (modern) building anywhere in the world.

[emmeka]

10 definatley. As the second most famous building in the world and as a marvel of beauty and elegance.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Does any building have a better hat?

It's downtown rival at 40 Wall spoke solid, conservative banking, while Chrysler shouted industrial innovation. The gargoyles weren't needed and detract from the form.
A ten.

I love how the crown pops out at various places. This one near Tudor City reminds me of the old Buck Rogers films.

[sirhcman]

10...the crem de le crem of NYC IMO...Although never seen it in person it ranks at the top of buildings I love from the city I guess in May I will have my final vote on what I really think 8)

[TLOZ Link5]

It's seen some pretty bad days. According to Higher by Neal Bascomb, it fell into such awful disrepair that the spire was pockmarked with punctures from lightning bolts, the dome leaked in many places, junk was crowded into the upper floors, and in the early '70s the occupancy rate was less than 20 percent.

Thankfully, most of that damage has been repaired.

Evidently, the building is actually 84 stories from street level to the top of the dome. But the floors are only occupied to the 77th.

[DominicanoNYC]

I give it a 10. The crown of the building is very unique and the shapes are just great to look at.

[BPC]

Originally Posted by TLOZ Link5

It's seen some pretty bad days. According to Higher by Neal Bascomb, it fell into such awful disrepair that the spire was pockmarked with punctures from lightning bolts, the dome leaked in many places, junk was crowded into the upper floors, and in the early '70s the occupancy rate was less than 20 percent.

Have you been inside any of the offices in the building? The interior space is still considered very second tier by big corporate renters, as the footprint of the building is too small and too much interior space is taken up and/or broken up. As a result, the offices in the building that I have been in tend to be a little dingy.

[NYatKNIGHT]

10

[TLOZ Link5]

BPC:

Nope, haven't been inside. I've seen offices in the Empire State Building, though; I'd think they were pretty similar. Most of the big corporate tenants of those days were meant to occupy the lower floors, especially with bank headquarters like 40 Wall and WSB.

I've seen the lobby, though. It's spectacular, and there are office directories there which indicate that the building is almost fully leased—at least the last time I was there.

[JonY]

The quintessential. Perfection.

Lucky to have been inside a couple of times too

Vote's a 'given' :wink:

[JonY]

More pics of this stunning 11/10 :wink:

[Spark]

I gave it a 9. While it's one of my all-time favorites, something about it irks me a bit as well. The crown and the gargoyles are stunning, but that style does not really match the rest of the facade (other than perhaps the very base of the building? not sure I'm remembering it accurately -- it's been a few years since I've seen it in person).

I've been inside the offices, and they are small and dingy, especially compared with today's prevailing style of big windows, open-plan, etc. A little interior renovation would help that along... But they, too, do not match the daring, striking syle of the crown.