Old, New & In-Between

This is the view of the Chrysler Building from downtown East Village. I was standing on 13th Street and the Chrysler Building is on 42nd Street. In the foreground, is an old pre-war apartment building on the left and a new luxury condo on the right.

So do you prefer old or new?

Chrysler Building

Here is one of the grand dames of New York City -- the Chrysler Building. The photo was taken while I was standing in front of Macy's Departmental Store on 34th Street and 7th Avenue. I have just bought two pairs of wrinkle-resistant Docker's pants that were on sale.

So what have you bought on sale recently?

Chrysler Building

Here is a zoomed in (or zoomed up) photo of the Chrysler Building -- as far as my little point-and-shoot camera can zoom. Isn't it a gorgeous building? I had to admit, it is one of my favorite architectural structures in New York City.

But I have a confession; I have never been inside the Chrysler Building. Midtown east, as this area is commonly called, is not a very interesting place to visit. There are mostly foreign embassies, corporate hotels and big office buildings in the area. So unless you have a business meeting to attend or are using the Grand Central Station, which is across the street from the Chrysler Building, you won't necessarily want to come to this area.

So how was your weekend? Did you do anything interesting?

Step Sisters on 42nd Street

The Chrysler Building (1930) is only half a block away from the Grand Central Station (1903) on 42nd Street. The buildings were built only 27 years apart but they couldn't be any more different. The Chrysler Building was made of steel and glass in the Art Deco style while the Grand Central Station is mostly concrete and bricks built in the Beaux Arts style. Here is a photo of both buildings. They are like step-sisters, both from the same family but from different pedigrees.

Do you have any siblings? How different are you from him/her/them?

Rival Peaks

The Empire State Building (on the right) and the Chrysler Building (left) have been competing stepsisters ever since they were conceived in the late 1920s during a period construction boom in New York City.

The Chrysler Building designed by architect, William Van Alen broke ground on September 19, 1928 and was expected to be the tallest skyscraper in the world, surpassing the then record holder, 40 Wall Street, which was under construction at the time. Not to be outdone, architect H. Craig Severence secretly added an additional 2 feet (0.6 meter) onto the 40 Wall Street structure but William Van Alen also secretly constructed a 125-foot (58.4 meters) spire from inside the Chrysler Building. In the mist of all this competition, the developers for the Empire State Building jumped into the fray by announcing the construction of an even taller skyscaper.

40 Wall Street (927 feet/283 meters/72 floors) was finally completed in 1930 and claimed the record for the tallest skyscaper in the world from the Woolworth Building (792 feet/241 meters/55 floors) for only a couple of months before the Chrysler Building (1,046 feet/319 meters/77 floors) opened in May 1930. The Empire State Building (1,250 feet/381 meters/102 floors) took over the record a year later in May 1931.

Which of the two buildings do you prefer?