Chrysler Building

An art-deco masterpiece designed by William Van Alen in 1930, this 1048ft-high skyscraper, just across the avenue from Grand Central Terminal, has been widely named since its opening as a favorite work of architecture by laypeople and aficionados alike. The building, constructed to be the headquarters for Walter P Chrysler and his automobile empire, reigned briefly as the tallest structure in the world until superseded by the Empire State Building a few months later. Fittingly, the facade’s design celebrates car culture, with gargoyles that resemble hood ornaments, radiator caps and thatched-steel designs, all best viewed with binoculars. The 200ft steel spire (known as the ‘vertex’), constructed in secret, was raised through the false roof as a surprise crowning touch – which shocked and dismayed a competing architect who had hoped that his new Wall St building would turn out to be New York’s tallest skyscraper at the time (now it wasn’t). Nestled at the top was the famed Cloud Club, a former speakeasy. For a long time, developers have been planning to convert part of the building into a hotel, but so far that remains only a pipe dream.

The Chrysler Building has no restaurant or observation deck, but is filled with unexciting offices for lawyers and accountants. Still, it’s worth wandering into the lobby to admire the elaborately veneered elevators (made from slices of Japanese ash, Oriental walnut and Cuban plum- pudding wood) and the profusion of marble, plus the ceiling mural (purportedly the world’s largest at 97ft by 100ft) depicting the promise of industry. But even at a distance, there are few more poignant symbols of New York than the Chrysler Building lit up at night.