Editing Chrysler Building (section)

==== Lobby ====
{{multiple image
| align             = center
| direction         = horizontal
| image1            = Chrysler Building Lobby 2.jpg
| width1            = 270
| caption1          = Lobby
| image2            = Chrysler Lamp.jpg
| width2            = 180
| caption2          = Art Deco lamp
| image3            = Chrysler building interior 1.jpg
| width3            = 240
| caption3          = Entrance doors
| image4            = Chrysler building interior 2.JPG
| width4            = 135
| caption4          = Futuristic digital clock
}}

The lobby is triangular in plan,{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|pp=608–609}}{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=259}}{{sfn|Kingston|2017|p=175}} connecting with entrances on Lexington Avenue, 42nd Street, and 43rd Street.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|p=3}} The lobby was the only publicly accessible part of the Chrysler Building by the 2000s.{{sfn|Hart|2009|p=129}}<ref name="NYTimes-Stravitz-Answers1-2009">{{cite news |last=Stravitz |first=David |date=December 9, 2009 |title=Answers About the Chrysler Building |work=The New York Times |url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/answers-about-the-chrysler-building/ |access-date=November 3, 2017}}</ref> The three entrances contain Nirosta steel doors,{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|p=4}} above which are etched-glass panels that allow natural light to illuminate the space.{{sfn|Reynolds|1994|p=284}} The floors contain bands of yellow [[travertine]] from [[Siena]], which mark the path between the entrances and elevator banks.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|p=4}}{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=259}}{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=609}}{{sfn|Reynolds|1994|p=284}} The writer Eric Nash described the lobby as a paragon of the Art Deco style, with clear influences of [[Expressionist architecture|German Expressionism]].{{sfn|Nash|McGrath|1999|p=63}} Chrysler wanted the design to impress other architects and automobile magnates, so he imported various materials regardless of the extra costs incurred.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|p=3}}<ref name="Trachtenberg Hyman 2002" />

The walls are covered with huge slabs of African red [[granite]].<ref name="Trachtenberg Hyman 2002" /><ref name="NYTimes-Stravitz-Answers1-2009" />{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|pp=3–4}} The walls also contain storefronts and doors made of Nirosta steel.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|p=4}}{{sfn|Reynolds|1994|p=284}} There is a wall panel dedicated to the work of clinchers, surveyors, masons, carpenters, plasterers, and builders. Fifty different figures were modeled after workers who participated in its construction.{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=259–260}} In 1999, the mural was returned to its original state after a restoration that removed the polyurethane coating and filled-in holes added in the 1970s.<ref name="Dunlap 1999" /> Originally, Van Alen's plans for the lobby included four large supporting columns, but they were removed after Chrysler objected on the grounds that the columns made the lobby appear "cramped".{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=259}} The lobby has dim lighting which combined with the appliqués of the lamps, create an intimate atmosphere and highlight the space.<ref name="Trachtenberg Hyman 2002">{{cite book |last1=Trachtenberg |first1=M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ovsanj4CylQC |title=Architecture, from Prehistory to Postmodernity |last2=Hyman |first2=I. |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-13-091841-3 |pages=526–528 |access-date=November 5, 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=609}} Vertical bars of fluorescent light are covered with Belgian blue marble and Mexican amber onyx bands, which soften and diffuse the light.{{sfn|Robins|2017|p=83}}{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|p=4}}{{sfn|Curcio|2001|p=430}} The marble and onyx bands are designed as inverted [[Chevron (insignia)|chevrons]].{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|p=4}}{{sfn|Reynolds|1994|p=284}}

Opposite the Lexington Avenue entrance is a security guard's desk topped by a digital clock.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=609}} The panel behind the desk is made of marble, surrounded by Nirosta steel.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|p=4}}{{sfn|Reynolds|1994|p=284}} The lobby connects to four elevator banks, each of a different design.{{sfn|Binder|2006|p=62}}{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=259}}{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|p=5}} To the north and south of the security desk are terrazzo staircases leading to the second floor and basement. The stairs contain marble walls and Nirosta-steel railings.{{sfn|Reynolds|1994|p=284}}{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|p=5}} The outer walls are flat but are clad with marble strips that are slightly angled to each other, which give the impression of being curved.{{sfn|Robins|2017|p=83}} The inner railings of each stair are designed with zigzagging Art Deco motifs, ending at red-marble newel posts on the ground story. Above each stair are aluminum-leaf ceilings with etched-glass chandeliers.{{sfn|Reynolds|1994|p=284}}{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission Interior|1978|p=5}}

The ceiling contains a {{convert|110|by|67|ft|m|adj=on}} mural, ''[[Transport and Human Endeavor]]'', designed by [[Edward Trumbull]]. The mural's theme is "energy and man's application of it to the solution of his problems", and it pays homage to the [[Aviation in the interwar period|Golden Age of Aviation]] and the [[Machine Age]].<ref name="Dunlap 1999">{{cite web|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|title=POSTINGS: 110- by 76-Foot Work on Ceiling Was Installed in 1930; Chrysler Building Mural Awakens|website=The New York Times|date=March 21, 1999|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/21/realestate/postings-110-76-foot-work-ceiling-was-installed-1930-chrysler-building-mural.html|access-date=November 5, 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|Miller|2015|p=259}}{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=609}} The mural is painted in the shape of a "Y" with ocher and golden tones. The central image of the mural is a "muscled giant whose brain directs his boundless energy to the attainment of the triumphs of this mechanical era", according to a 1930 pamphlet that advertised the building. The mural's Art Deco style is manifested in characteristic triangles, sharp angles, slightly curved lines, chrome ornaments, and numerous patterns.<ref name="Dunlap 1999" /> The mural depicts several silver planes, including the ''[[Spirit of St. Louis]]'', as well as furnaces of incandescent steel and the building itself.{{sfn|Miller|2015|pp=259–260}}{{sfn|Nash|McGrath|1999|p=63}}

When the building opened, the first and second floors housed a public exhibition of Chrysler vehicles.<ref>{{cite book |last=Adler |first=D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DALX2AsrZTcC |title=Chrysler |publisher=MotorBooks International |isbn=978-1-61060-871-8 |page=21 |access-date=November 5, 2017|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=September 18, 1997 |title=Chrysler Building Lures 20 Bidders With Romance and Profit Potential |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/18/nyregion/chrysler-building-lures-20-bidders-with-romance-and-profit-potential.html |access-date=November 5, 2017 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The exhibition, known as the Chrysler Automobile Salon, was near the corner of Lexington Avenue and 42nd Streets, and opened in 1936.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 12, 1936 |title=Chrysler Salon Popular; 25,000 Have Visited Display Since Opening Saturday |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/11/12/archives/chrysler-salon-popular-25000-have-visited-display-since-opening.html |access-date=November 16, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The ground floor featured "invisible glass" [[display window]]s,{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=303}}<ref name="AF-1937">{{cite magazine |date=January 1937 |title=Chrysler Automobile Salon |url=https://usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1937-01.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228091214/https://www.usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1937-01.pdf |archive-date=February 28, 2020 |url-status=live |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=13–14 |journal=Architectural Forum}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Berger |first=Meyer |date=January 23, 1956 |title=About New York; 'Invisible' Windows Crack in Chrysler's Salon—1811 Cognac for Eisenhower |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/01/23/archives/about-new-york-invisible-windows-crack-in-chryslers-salon1811.html |access-date=November 16, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> a {{convert|51|ft|m|adj=on}} diameter turntable upon which automobiles were displayed, and a ceiling with lights arranged in concentric circles.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=303}}<ref name="AF-1937" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 11, 1936 |title=Chrysler Has Special Salon in Own Building; Cars on Turntable Behind Invisible Glass |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/11/11/archives/chrysler-has-special-salon-in-own-building-cars-on-turntable-behind.html |access-date=November 16, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Escalators led to the showroom's second floor where [[Plymouth (automobile)|Plymouths]], [[Dodge]]s, and [[DeSoto (automobile)|DeSoto]]s were sold.{{sfn|Stern|Gilmartin|Mellins|1987|p=305}} The Chrysler Salon remained operational through at least the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 25, 1962 |title=Camera Notes; Press Picture Exhibit Among Local Shows |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/03/25/archives/camera-notes-press-picture-exhibit-among-local-shows.html |access-date=November 16, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>