Editing Chrysler Building (section)

====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>