Instant Cities: New York

New York › Places and landmarks

Chrysler Building

The Art Deco tower on 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, with a crown of steel arches and a needle on top.

See it in 3D Watch the tour

Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Walter Chrysler, the car maker, had William Van Alen build this tower from 1928 to 1930. In a race with 40 Wall Street to be the tallest, the builders put the spire together in secret inside the crown and raised it through the roof in one go. At 319 metres it was the tallest building in the world, until the Empire State Building passed it a year later.

Its crown of stainless steel arches, with triangular windows, shines in the sun and is lit at night. Steel eagles stick out from the corners of the 61st floor, and lower down the corners carry winged radiator caps, like the ones on Chrysler’s cars. Visit it in 3D ›

More in New York

Empire State BuildingThe Art Deco tower on Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, the tallest building in the world from 1931 to 1970. Times SquareThe crossing of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, under walls of lit screens, at the heart of the Theater District. Grand Central TerminalThe great railway station on 42nd Street, with its hall under a ceiling of stars and its clock of opal. New York Public LibraryThe marble library on Fifth Avenue, guarded by the two stone lions Patience and Fortitude. Rockefeller CenterThe Art Deco towers between Fifth and Sixth Avenue, with the golden Prometheus, the skating rink and the Christmas tree. Bryant ParkThe green lawn behind the Public Library, with its plane trees, its green chairs and in winter its ice rink. St. Patrick’s CathedralThe Gothic cathedral of white marble on Fifth Avenue, facing Rockefeller Center. Macy’s Herald SquareOne of the largest department stores in the world, on 34th Street, where the Thanksgiving Day Parade ends. Statue of LibertyThe copper statue in the harbour, a gift from France, that greeted the ships of the immigrants. Central ParkThe great park in the middle of Manhattan, four kilometres long, just north of the game’s map. Yellow cabsThe yellow taxis of New York, which you hail from the kerb with a raised hand. New York pizzaThe big, thin pizza sold by the slice, to be folded in half and eaten on the street.