Walk down 42nd Street and look up. You’ll see it. That unmistakable glint of stainless steel needles piercing the haze. Even with the glass giants of Hudson Yards and the skinny "billionaire matchsticks" on 57th Street crowding the view, the Chrysler Building New York remains the undisputed king of the mountain for anyone with a soul. It’s weird, honestly. It hasn’t been the tallest building in the world since 1931—a title it held for a measly eleven months—yet it’s the one we all put on the postcards.
The building is a middle finger made of brick and metal.
Back in the late 1920s, Walter Chrysler wasn't just building an office; he was having a very public, very expensive ego trip. He wanted the world to know he’d arrived. He teamed up with architect William Van Alen, and together they basically played a high-stakes game of "mine is bigger" with the Manhattan Bank Building at 40 Wall Street. It’s a legendary piece of New York lore. Van Alen’s former partner, H. Craig Severance, was building the Wall Street tower and thought he’d won by adding a few extra feet at the last second. He even had a celebration. But Van Alen had a secret. He’d hidden a 185-foot spire—the "vertex"—inside the building's fire shaft. On October 23, 1929, they hoisted that stainless steel needle through the roof in about 90 minutes.
Game over.
The Art Deco Swagger You Can’t Fake
Most modern skyscrapers look like they were designed by a spreadsheet. The Chrysler Building New York was designed by a guy who loved cars and wasn't afraid to be literal about it. If you look at the 31st floor, there are these massive replica 1929 Chrysler radiator caps. They have wings. They’re huge. Then you’ve got the 61st floor where these terrifyingly cool eagles—modeled after 1929 Chrysler hood ornaments—stare down at the taxis below. It’s aggressive. It’s beautiful.
The brickwork is a masterclass in geometry. While the Empire State Building feels solid and stoic, the Chrysler feels like it’s vibrating. The white and grey bricks create these rhythmic patterns that lead your eye up to the crown. And that crown? That’s Nirosta steel. It’s a high-chrome-nickel steel alloy from Germany. It doesn’t rust, and it barely tarnishes. Even today, it catches the light in a way that makes the building look like it’s made of liquid silver during a sunset.
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Inside, the lobby is a fever dream of Moroccan marble and amber. It used to be a showroom for Chrysler cars, which sounds tacky but was actually peak luxury at the time. The ceiling mural by Edward Trumbull is called "Transport and Human Endeavor." It’s one of the largest murals in the world and features the building itself, alongside planes and workers. It’s a time capsule of 1930s optimism.
The Elevator Obsession
You can’t talk about this place without mentioning the elevators. There are 32 of them. Each cab is lined with a different combination of exotic woods—teak, Philippine mahogany, Cuban plum pudding wood, English brown oak. The marquetry is so intricate it feels like you're standing inside a giant, expensive cigar humidor. Van Alen didn’t just want to move people up and down; he wanted them to feel like they were part of the machine.
What’s Actually Happening Inside Right Now?
Here is the truth: for a long time, the Chrysler Building New York has been a bit of a mess behind the scenes. In 2019, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council sold it for a massive loss—around $150 million—to RFR Realty and the Signa Group. To put that in perspective, they bought it for $800 million in 2008. Why the fire sale? Because the land under the building is owned by Cooper Union.
The "ground lease" is a killer.
The owners don't own the dirt. They pay rent to the school. That rent jumped from about $7.75 million a year to $32.5 million recently. It’s scheduled to hit $41 million by 2028. This makes it incredibly hard to turn a profit, especially when you’re dealing with a landmarked building that has old-school floor plates and vintage plumbing. Tenants want the floor-to-ceiling glass of the new towers, not the smaller windows of the 1930s.
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But RFR, led by Aby Rosen, has been trying to bring the "cool" back. They’ve been working on a plan to open a new observation deck on the 61st floor. For decades, the public hasn't been allowed past the lobby. If you wanted a view, you were out of luck unless you worked for a law firm in the building. The new deck would use the terraces behind those giant eagles. Imagine standing next to a 10-foot steel eagle head while looking at the East River.
The Ghost of the Cloud Club
On the 66th, 67th, and 68th floors, there used to be a place called the Cloud Club. It was an ultra-exclusive lunch spot for the city’s elite. It had a Tudor-style grill room and a room designed to look like a futuristic galley. It closed in the late 70s and has basically been a dusty, eerie storage space ever since. There have been a dozen rumors about turning it into a speakeasy or a private club again. Honestly, it’s a crime that space isn't being used. It’s arguably the most atmospheric square footage in the entire zip code.
Misconceptions and Quirks
People always get the height wrong. They think it’s still one of the top five. It’s not. It’s currently somewhere around the 13th tallest in New York City, and it keeps dropping as the new pencil towers go up. But height is a vanity metric. The Chrysler has "gravitas," something the 1,400-foot glass boxes lack.
- Is it a museum? No. It’s an active office building. You can’t just wander the floors.
- Can you go to the top? Not yet. The lobby is the only public area.
- The Spire. It’s not just for looks; it houses broadcast equipment, though most of that moved to the Empire State Building and later the World Trade Center.
- The Windows. There are 3,862 windows. If you’re the guy who has to wash them, God bless you.
One of the weirdest details is the "Celestial" suite. Walter Chrysler had a private apartment and office at the top. He reportedly had the highest toilet in Manhattan at the time. He also had a custom-built workshop where he kept his original set of tools from his days as a railroad mechanic. He never wanted to forget where he came from, even while sitting in a silver throne in the clouds.
How to Experience it Today
If you’re visiting, don't just take a photo from the sidewalk and leave.
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Enter the lobby from 42nd Street. It’s free. Just walk in like you belong there. The security guards are used to the tourists gawking at the ceiling. Look at the elevator doors. The wood inlays are incredible. Notice the red Moroccan marble walls. It’s dim, moody, and smells like old money and polished stone.
The best view of the building itself isn't from the base. Go to the corner of 44th and 3rd Avenue. Or better yet, go to the top of the Empire State Building or the Edge at Hudson Yards. Seeing the Chrysler Building New York from a distance allows you to appreciate the "sunburst" pattern of the crown. When the sun hits those triangular windows at a certain angle, the whole top of the building seems to ignite.
Actionable Tips for Your Visit
- Timing is Everything: Visit the lobby during business hours (8 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Friday). It’s closed to the public on weekends.
- The "Secret" Angle: For the best photo, walk north on Lexington Avenue to about 48th street. You get a clear shot of the spire framed by the street.
- Look for the Details: Bring binoculars if you're a nerd for architecture. You can see the hubcaps and the eagle gargoyles much better from the rooftops of nearby bars like The Pen Top or even just from a high-floor hotel room in Midtown.
- Check the News: Keep an eye on the RFR Realty announcements. The observation deck project has faced delays due to the ground lease drama and the general state of commercial real estate, but once it opens, it will be the hardest ticket to get in the city.
- Combine your Trip: It's right next to Grand Central Terminal. Do both. They are the two greatest examples of New York’s "Golden Age" within a three-minute walk of each other.
The Chrysler Building doesn't need to be the tallest anymore. It won the war of aesthetics decades ago. It’s a reminder that even in a city obsessed with the "new," some things are just built too well to be ignored. It’s a 1,046-foot monument to pure, unadulterated ego, and New York is better for it.
Keep your eyes on the 61st floor. Those eagles aren't going anywhere.
Next Steps for the Architecture Enthusiast
- Map out a walking tour that starts at Grand Central, moves through the Chrysler Building lobby, and ends at the Daily News Building (another Art Deco masterpiece by Raymond Hood).
- Research the "Race to the Sky" of 1929-1930 to understand the specific engineering hurdles Van Alen overcame to hide that spire.
- Monitor the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission filings if you want the first word on when the internal renovations and the new observation deck finally get the green light for public entry.