{"nrhp_refnum":"76001237","name":"Chrysler Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"405 Lexington Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.751587488500036,"lon":-73.97538845511437,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-12-08","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1976-12-08","areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 77-story skyscraper at 405 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, designed by William Van Alen and built by Fred T. Ley & Company between 1928 and 1930.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a monument to America's machine age and one of the finest statements of the Style Moderne (Art Deco) in American architecture. It was briefly the tallest building in the world at about 1,048 feet. Its ornament draws on automobile parts, and Van Alen's design won contemporary critical notice.","narrative":"Rising 77 stories above Lexington Avenue at 42nd Street in Manhattan, this skyscraper was designed by William Van Alen and built by Fred T. Ley & Company between 1928 and 1930. Walter Chrysler took over the project from earlier plans for another developer, and the tower design was revised. For a few months it was the tallest building in the world, at roughly 1,048 feet. The exterior combines grey, white and black enameled brick with white marble, black granite and 'Nirosta' rust-resisting steel. Its ornament is drawn from automobile parts: gargoyles recall radiator caps, and decorative bosses echo hub caps. Inside, a triangular lobby of red marble and travertine is topped by a large ceiling mural by Edward Trumbull. The nomination treats the building as a monument to the American machine age and a leading example of Style Moderne, praised by critics of its day for its sense of movement and originality.","period_of_significance":"1928-1930","architect_builder":"William Van Alen (1882-1954), architect; Fred T. Ley & Company, Inc., builder","architectural_style":"Style Moderne (Art Deco)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Marked occupied, in excellent condition, unaltered and on its original site; privately owned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.354458-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/76001237_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001237/77b456e93c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001237/77b456e93c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"w:User:Overand derivative work: Overand (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chrysler_Building_by_David_Shankbone_Retouched.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">w:User:Overand derivative work: Overand (talk)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chrysler_Building_by_David_Shankbone_Retouched.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315842","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11274"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/chrysler-building-76001237/"}