Editing Chrysler Building (section)

=== Development ===
Originally, the Chrysler Building was to be the Reynolds Building, a project of real estate developer and former&nbsp;New York state&nbsp;senator [[William H. Reynolds (New York politician)|William&nbsp;H. Reynolds]].{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=606}}{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=1}}<ref name="jayebee.com" /> Prior to his involvement in planning the building, Reynolds was best known for developing [[Coney Island]]'s [[Dreamland (Coney Island, 1904)|Dreamland amusement park]].&nbsp;When the amusement park was destroyed by a fire in 1911, Reynolds turned his attention to&nbsp;[[Manhattan]] real estate, where he set out to build the tallest building in the world.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=606}}{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=1}}

==== Planning ====
In 1921, Reynolds rented a large plot of land at the corner of [[Lexington Avenue]] and [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|42nd Street]] with the intention of building a tall building on the site.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=1}}<ref name="jayebee.com" />{{sfn|Reynolds|1994|p=280}} Reynolds did not develop the property for several years, prompting the Cooper Union to try to increase the assessed value of the property in 1924. The move, which would force Reynolds to pay more rent, was unusual because property owners usually sought to decrease their property assessments and pay fewer taxes.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 9, 1924 |title=Cooper Union Seeks Higher Tax Assessment: Former Valuation Would Force Lessee, William H. Reynolds, to Pay Higher Rent |page=6 |work=The New York Herald, New York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1113201557}}}}</ref> Reynolds hired the architect&nbsp;[[William Van Alen]] to design a forty-story building there in 1927.<ref name="NYTimes-Never-Again-Scaled-2005">{{Cite news |last=Bascomb |first=Neal |date=May 26, 2005 |title=For the Architect, a Height Never Again to Be Scaled |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/garden/for-the-architect-a-height-never-again-to-be-scaled.html |access-date=November 1, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Van Alen's original design featured many [[Modern architecture|Modernist]] stylistic elements, with glazed, curved windows at the corners.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=606}}

[[File:Chrysler Building Nov 2021.jpg|thumb|Chrysler Building from The SUMMIT at [[One Vanderbilt]] with the [[Headquarters of the United Nations|United Nations headquarters]] in the background ]]

Van Alen was respected in his field for his work on the Albemarle Building at Broadway and 24th Street, designing it in collaboration with his partner&nbsp;[[H. Craig Severance]].<ref name="Gray 1998">{{cite web |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=March 22, 1998 |title=Streetscapes/William Van Alen; An Architect Called the 'Ziegfeld of His Profession' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/22/realestate/streetscapes-william-van-alen-an-architect-called-the-ziegfeld-of-his-profession.html |access-date=November 1, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>{{sfn|Kingston|2017|p=97}}&nbsp;Van Alen and Severance complemented each other, with Van Alen being an original, imaginative architect and Severance being a shrewd businessperson who handled the firm's finances.{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=2}}&nbsp;The relationship between them became tense over disagreements on how best to run the firm.<ref name="NYTimes-Never-Again-Scaled-2005" />&nbsp;A 1924 article in the&nbsp;''[[Architectural Review]]'', praising the Albemarle Building's design, had mentioned Van Alen as the designer in the firm and ignored Severance's&nbsp;role.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=817}}{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=4}}{{sfn|Kingston|2017|p=109}} The architects' partnership dissolved acrimoniously several months later, with lawsuits over the firm's clients and assets lasting over a year.{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=4}}{{sfn|Kingston|2017|p=109}} The rivalry influenced the design of the future Chrysler Building, since Severance's more traditional architectural style would otherwise have restrained Van Alen's more modern outlook.{{sfn|Kingston|2017|pp=108–109}}

==== Refinement of designs ====
By February 2, 1928, the proposed building's height had been increased to 54 stories, which would have made it the tallest building in Midtown.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 2, 1928 |title=54-Story Skyscraper, Tallest in Midtown, Planned at Lexington Avenue and 42d Street |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/02/02/95549248.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811211710/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/02/02/95549248.pdf |archive-date=August 11, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=November 8, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The proposal was changed again two weeks later, with official plans for a 63-story building.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 16, 1928 |title=Skyscraper Plans Filed.; 63-Story Offices to Rise on Lexington Av. Between 42d and 43d. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/02/16/91475150.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106145536/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/02/16/91475150.pdf |archive-date=January 6, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=November 8, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> A little more than a week after that, the plan was changed for the third time, with two additional stories added.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 25, 1928 |title=Tallest Building In World Is Planned; Skyscraper of 64 Stories, 800 Feet in Height, to Be Built in Grand Central Zone. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/02/25/109855379.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811211807/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/02/25/109855379.pdf |archive-date=August 11, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=November 8, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> By this time, 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue were both hubs for construction activity, due to the removal of the [[IRT Third Avenue Line|Third Avenue Elevated's]] 42nd Street spur, which was seen as a blight on the area. The adjacent 56-story Chanin Building was also under construction. Because of the elevated spur's removal, real estate speculators believed that Lexington Avenue would become the "Broadway of the East Side", causing a [[ripple effect]] that would spur developments farther east.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 4, 1928 |title=Building Activity On Lexington Av. The World's Tallest Structure Planned for the Grand Central Zone. Avenue Dormant For Years. Realty Values on the Increase as Large Plots Are Assembled for Improvement. A $12,000,000 Project. Old Parish House Passes. Seminary Leased Recently. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/03/04/95557551.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811211730/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/03/04/95557551.pdf |archive-date=August 11, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=November 8, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In April 1928, Reynolds signed a 67-year lease for the plot and finalized the details of his ambitious project.{{sfn|Kingston|2017|p=146}} Van Alen's original design for the skyscraper called for a base with first-floor showroom windows that would be triple-height, and above would be 12 stories with glass-wrapped corners, to create the impression that the tower was floating in mid-air.<ref name="jayebee.com" /><ref name="NYEP-Reynolds-Tallest-1928">{{cite news |date=July 28, 1929 |title=Reynolds Building Will Be Tallest Structure in World |page=12 |work=New York Evening Post |url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252011%2FNew%2520York%2520Evening%2520Post%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Post%25201928%2520Grayscale%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Evening%2520Post%25201928%2520Grayscale%2520-%25205602.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811211724/http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/New%20York%20Evening%20Post/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201928%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201928%20Grayscale%20-%205602.pdf |archive-date=August 11, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=November 3, 2017 |via=[[Fultonhistory.com]]}}</ref> Reynolds's main contribution to the building's design was his insistence that it have a metallic crown, despite Van Alen's initial opposition;{{sfn|Nash|McGrath|1999|p=63}} the metal-and-crystal crown would have looked like "a jeweled sphere" at night.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=189}} Originally, the skyscraper would have risen {{convert|808|ft|m|0|sp=us}}, with 67 floors.<ref name="emporis" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=July 29, 1928 |title=Grand Central Zone To Have Tallest Building In World |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/07/29/121606495.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811211718/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/07/29/121606495.pdf |archive-date=August 11, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=November 2, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="NYEP-Reynolds-Tallest-1928" /> These plans were approved in June 1928.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 6, 1928 |title=Approve New Skyscraper |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/06/06/91523940.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126063437/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/06/06/91523940.pdf |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=November 2, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Van Alen's drawings were unveiled in the following August and published in a magazine run by the&nbsp;[[American Institute of Architects]] (AIA).{{sfn|Kingston|2017|pp=145}}

Reynolds ultimately devised an alternate design for the Reynolds Building, which was published in August 1928. The new design was much more conservative, with an [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] dome that a critic compared to Governor [[Al Smith]]'s bowler hat, and a brick arrangement on the upper floors that simulated windows in the corners, a detail that remains in the current Chrysler Building. This design almost exactly reflected the shape, setbacks, and the layout of the windows of the current building, but with a different dome.<ref name="jayebee.com" />

====Final plans and start of construction====
With the design complete, groundbreaking for the Reynolds Building took place on September 19, 1928,<ref name="Elsheshtawy 2009 p. 154">{{cite book | last=Elsheshtawy | first=Yasser | title=Dubai: Behind an Urban Spectacle | publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=Planning, History and Environment Series | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-135-26119-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1VSOAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA154 | page=154}}</ref><!--The groundbreaking date may not be correct; see talk.-->
but by late 1928, Reynolds did not have the means to carry on construction.{{sfn|Kingston|2017|p=161}} Walter Chrysler offered to buy the building in early October 1928,<ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1113459887}} |title=Reynolds Said To Have Sold '67-Story Tower': Walter Chrysler, Automobile Maker, Reported to Have Bought Highest Building |date=October 3, 1928 |page=42 |issn=1941-0646 |work=New York Herald Tribune|postscript=none}}; {{Cite news|date=October 4, 1928|title=Chrysler Deal Pending; Auto Man's Office Fails to Confirm Rumor of Realty Purchase.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/10/04/archives/chrysler-deal-pending-auto-mans-office-fails-to-confirm-rumor-of.html|access-date=March 20, 2023|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and Reynolds sold the plot, lease, plans, and architect's services to Chrysler on October 15, 1928,{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=608}}{{sfn|Kingston|2017|p=161}}<ref name="NYTimes-Chrysler-Plans-1928" /> for more than $2.5 million.<ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1113396658}} |title=Reynolds's 68-Story Plan Nets $2,500,000 in Sale to Chrysler |date=October 17, 1928 |page=1 |issn=1941-0646 |work=New York Herald Tribune}}</ref> That day, the Goodwin Construction Company began demolition of what had been built.{{sfn|Cobb|2010|p=109}}<ref name="NYTimes-Chrysler-Plans-1928" /> A contract was awarded on October 28,<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 28, 1928 |title=Prizes for Building Workers In Novel Poster Safety Campaign |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and demolition was completed on November 9.{{sfn|Cobb|2010|p=109}} Chrysler's initial plans for the building were similar to Reynolds's, but with the 808-foot building having 68 floors instead of 67. The plans entailed a ground-floor [[Pedestrian zone|pedestrian arcade]]; a [[facade]] of stone below the fifth floor and [[Brickwork|brick]]-and-[[architectural terracotta|terracotta]] above; and a three-story bronze-and-glass "observation dome" at the top.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=608}}<ref name="NYTimes-Chrysler-Plans-1928" /> However, Chrysler wanted a more progressive design, and he worked with Van Alen to redesign the skyscraper to be {{convert|925|ft|m|abbr=on}} tall.{{sfn|Kingston|2017|p=164}} At the new height, Chrysler's building would be taller than the {{convert|792|ft|m|adj=on}} [[Woolworth Building]], a building in [[lower Manhattan]] that was the world's tallest at the time.<ref name="Gray 1992">{{cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=November 15, 1992 |title=Streetscapes: 40 Wall Street; A Race for the Skies, Lost by a Spire |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/15/realestate/streetscapes-40-wall-street-a-race-for-the-skies-lost-by-a-spire.html |access-date=November 3, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes-Chrysler-Plans-1928" /> At one point, Chrysler had requested that Van Alen shorten the design by ten floors, but reneged on that decision after realizing that the increased height would also result in increased publicity.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=605}}

[[File:New York City Chrysler Building 02.jpg|thumb|upright|One of the [[Radiator (engine cooling)|radiator]] cap–themed [[Ornament (art)|ornaments]]]]
From late 1928 to early 1929, modifications to the design of the dome continued.<ref name="NYTimes-Never-Again-Scaled-2005" /> In March 1929, the press published details of an "artistic dome" that had the shape of a giant thirty-pointed star, which would be crowned by a sculpture five meters high.<ref name="The New York Times 1929" /><ref name="jayebee.com" />{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=57}} The final design of the dome included several arches and triangular windows.<ref name="NYTimes-Never-Again-Scaled-2005" /> Lower down, various architectural details were modeled after Chrysler automobile products, such as the hood ornaments of the [[Plymouth (automobile)|Plymouth]] (see {{section link||Facade}}).<ref name="jayebee.com" /><ref name="emporis" /> The building's gargoyles on the 31st floor and the eagles on the 61st floor, were created to represent flight,{{sfn|Curcio|2001|p=424}} and to embody the machine age of the time.<ref name="jayebee.com" /><ref name="emporis" /> Even the topmost needle was built using a process similar to one Chrysler used to manufacture his cars, with precise "hand craftmanship".{{sfn|Curcio|2001|pp=423–424}} In his autobiography, Chrysler says he suggested that his building be taller than the [[Eiffel Tower]].<ref name="Chrysler-Autobiography-1950">{{Cite book |last=Chrysler |first=Walter P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KRI-ygAACAAJ |title=Life of an American Workman |publisher=Benediction Classics |year=1950 |isbn=9781849023276 |pages=197 |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1978|p=1}}

Meanwhile, excavation of the new building's {{convert|69|ft|m|adj=mid|-deep}} foundation began in mid-November 1928{{sfn|Stravitz|2002|p=54}}{{sfn|Curcio|2001|p=420}} and was completed in mid-January 1929, when bedrock was reached.{{sfn|Cobb|2010|p=109}} A total of {{convert|105,000,000|lb|kg}} of rock and {{convert|36,000,000|lb|kg}} of soil were excavated for the foundation, equal to 63% of the future building's weight.{{sfn|Curcio|2001|p=420}} Construction of the building proper began on January 21, 1929.{{sfn|Cobb|2010|p=109}} The [[Carnegie Steel Company]] provided the steel beams, the first of which was installed on March 27; and by April 9, the first upright beams had been set into place.{{sfn|Curcio|2001|p=420}} The steel structure was "a few floors" high by June 1929, 35 floors high by early August,{{sfn|Curcio|2001|p=420}} and completed by September.<ref name="Skyscraper_Museum" /> Despite a frantic steelwork construction pace of about four floors per week,<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 4, 1929|title=4 Floors Added Weekly; Brick and Steel Are Being Placed Rapidly in Chrysler Building.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/08/04/archives/4-floors-added-weekly-brick-and-steel-are-being-placed-rapidly-in.html|access-date=March 20, 2023|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> no workers died during the construction of the skyscraper's steelwork.<ref name="NYTimes-Safety-1930">{{cite web |date=January 19, 1930 |title=Lauds Safety Record |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/01/19/96905885.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811211716/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/01/19/96905885.pdf |archive-date=August 11, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=November 4, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Chrysler lauded this achievement, saying, "It is the first time that any structure in the world has reached such a height, yet the entire steel construction was accomplished without loss of life".<ref name="NYTimes-Safety-1930" /> In total, 391,881 rivets were used,<ref>{{cite book | last=Chrysler | first=W.P. | title=The Chrysler Building | publisher=Chrysler Tower Corporation | year=1930 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYOGWG1d064C | page=8}}</ref> and approximately 3,826,000 bricks were laid to create the non-loadbearing walls of the skyscraper.{{sfn|Stravitz|2002|pp=54, 158}} Walter Chrysler personally financed the construction with his income from his car company.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grigg |first=N.S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v5TgZ8ckYagC |title=Infrastructure Finance: The Business of Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future |publisher=Wiley |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-470-59727-9 |series=Wiley Finance |page=52 |access-date=November 3, 2017}}</ref> The Chrysler Building's height officially surpassed the Woolworth's on October 16, 1929, thereby becoming the world's tallest structure.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 16, 1929 |title=Chrysler Building Now Tallest Edifice; Tower Height of 808 Feet Surpasses Woolworth Structureby Sixteen Feet. |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/10/16/96000806.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811211724/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/10/16/96000806.pdf |archive-date=August 11, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=November 3, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

====Competition for "world's tallest building" title====
The same year that the Chrysler Building's construction started, banker [[Dover Corporation#Founding|George L. Ohrstrom]] proposed the construction of a 47-story office building at [[40 Wall Street]] downtown, designed by Van Alen's former partner Severance. Shortly thereafter, Ohrstrom expanded his project to 60 floors, but it was still shorter than the Woolworth and Chrysler buildings.<ref name="Gray 1992" /> That April, Severance increased 40 Wall's height to {{convert|840|ft|m}} with 62 floors, exceeding the Woolworth's height by {{convert|48|ft|m}} and the Chrysler's by {{convert|32|ft|m}}.<ref name="Gray 1992" /> 40 Wall Street and the Chrysler Building started competing for the title of "[[List of tallest buildings in the world|world's tallest building]]".<ref name="Davies y631" /><ref>{{cite web |author=Emporis GmbH |title=Emporis Data "...a celebrated three-way race to become the tallest building in the world." |url=http://www.emporis.com/building/the-trump-building-new-york-city-ny-usa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224222332/http://www.emporis.com/building/the-trump-building-new-york-city-ny-usa |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 24, 2012 |access-date=September 27, 2010 |publisher=Emporis.com|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |title=The Manhattan Company – Skyscraper.org; "...'race' to erect the tallest tower in the world." |url=http://www.skyscraper.org/TALLEST_TOWERS/t_manco.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150515170003/http://skyscraper.org/TALLEST_TOWERS/t_manco.htm |archive-date=May 15, 2015 |access-date=September 27, 2010 |publisher=Skyscraper.org}}</ref>{{sfn|Reynolds|1994|p=281}} The [[Empire State Building]], on 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, entered the competition in 1929.{{sfn|Rasenberger|2009|pp=388–389}} The race was defined by at least five other proposals, although only the Empire State Building would survive the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]].{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=612}}{{efn|These proposals included the 100-story [[Metropolitan Life North Building]]; a {{convert|1050|ft|adj=on}} tower built by [[Abraham E. Lefcourt]] at Broadway and 49th Street; a 100-story tower developed by the [[Fred F. French]] Company on Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets; an 85-story tower to be developed on the site of the Belmont Hotel near Grand Central Terminal; and the Noyes-Schulte Company's proposed tower on Broadway between Duane and Worth Streets. Only one of these projects was even partially completed: the base of the Metropolitan Life North Building.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|pp=610, 612}}}} The "Race into the Sky", as popular media called it at the time, was representative of the country's optimism in the 1920s, which helped fuel the building boom in major cities.{{sfn|Rasenberger|2009|pp=388–389}} Van Alen expanded the Chrysler Building's height to {{convert|925|ft|m}}, prompting Severance to increase the height of 40 Wall Street to {{convert|927|ft|m}} in April 1929.{{sfn|Reynolds|1994|p=281}}{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=130}} Construction of 40 Wall Street began that May and was completed twelve months later.<ref name="Gray 1992" />

In response, Van Alen obtained permission for a {{convert|125|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} spire.{{sfn|Stravitz|2002|p=161}}{{sfn|Binder|2006|p=102}}{{efn|According to [[Robert A. M. Stern]], the spire was {{convert|185|ft}} long.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=605}}}} He had it secretly constructed inside the frame of the Chrysler Building,{{sfn|Robins|2017|p=82}}{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=130}}{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=605}} ensuring that Severance did not know the Chrysler Building's ultimate height until the end.<ref name="Davies y631" /> The spire was delivered to the site in four sections.{{sfn|Stravitz|2002|p=161}} On October 23, 1929, one week after the Chrysler Building surpassed the Woolworth Building's height and one day before the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]], the spire was assembled. According to one account, "the bottom section of the spire was hoisted to the top of the building's dome and lowered into the 66th floor of the building."<ref name="Gray 1992" /> Then, within 90 minutes the rest of the spire's pieces were raised and riveted in sequence,{{sfn|Stravitz|2002|p=xiii, 161}} raising the tower to 1,046 feet.{{sfn|Robins|2017|p=82}}{{sfn|Curcio|2001|p=426}}{{sfn|Cobb|2010|p=110}} Van Alen, who witnessed the process from the street along with its engineers and Walter Chrysler,{{sfn|Curcio|2001|p=426}} compared the experience to watching a butterfly leaving its cocoon.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=605}}{{sfn|Cobb|2010|p=110}} In the October 1930 edition of ''[[Architectural Forum]]'', Van Alen explained the design and construction of the crown and needle:{{sfn|Curcio|2001|p=425}}<ref name="Skyscraper_Museum" />

{{blockquote|A high spire structure with a needle-like termination was designed to surmount the dome. This is 185 feet high and 8 feet square at its base. It was made up of four corner angles, with light angle strut and diagonal members, all told weighing 27 tons. It was manifestly impossible to assemble this structure and hoist it as a unit from the ground, and equally impossible to hoist it in sections and place them as such in their final positions. Besides, it would be more spectacular, for publicity value, to have this cloud-piercing needle appear unexpectedly.}}

The steel tip brought the Chrysler Building to a height of {{convert|1046|ft|m}}, greatly exceeding 40 Wall Street's height.{{sfn|Willis|Friedman|1998|p=14}}{{sfn|Robins|2017|p=82}} Contemporary news media did not write of the spire's erection, nor were there any press releases celebrating the spire's erection. Even the ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'', which had virtually continuous coverage of the tower's construction, did not report on the spire's installation until days after the spire had been raised.{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=258}}

Chrysler realized that his tower's height would exceed the Empire State Building's as well, having ordered Van Alen to change the Chrysler's original roof from a stubby [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] dome to the narrow steel spire.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=130}} However, the Empire State's developer [[John J. Raskob]] reviewed the plans and realized that he could add five more floors and a spire of his own to his 80-story building{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=131}} and acquired additional plots to support that building's height extension.{{sfn|Bascomb|2004|p=230}}<ref>{{cite news |date=November 19, 1929 |title=Enlarges Site For 1,000-Foot Building |work=The New York Times |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/11/19/107107719.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102004515/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/11/19/107107719.pdf |archive-date=November 2, 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=October 24, 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Two days later, the Empire State Building's co-developer, former governor Al Smith, announced the updated plans for that skyscraper, with an observation deck on the 86th-floor roof at a height of {{convert|1050|ft|m}}, higher than the Chrysler's 71st-floor observation deck at {{convert|783|ft}}.{{sfn|Tauranac|2014|p=131}}