1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920
Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I

2
00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,360
Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey y'all, I'm Eves and welcome to This

3
00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:10,200
Speaker 1: Day in History Class, a podcast for people who can't

4
00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:25,080
Speaker 1: get enough history today. It's the day was nineteen thirty.

5
00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:30,240
Speaker 1: The Chrysler Building in Manhattan, New York, was completed until

6
00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,519
Speaker 1: the Empire State Building was completed eleven months later. The

7
00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:37,360
Speaker 1: Chrysler Building was the tallest building in the world. In

8
00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,159
Speaker 1: New York in the nineteen twenties, there was an intense

9
00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,960
Speaker 1: competition to build the tallest skyscraper in the world. Some

10
00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:46,640
Speaker 1: skyscrapers in the city were designed in the Art Deco

11
00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:51,240
Speaker 1: style of the period, with bold geometric shapes, dynamic ornamentation,

12
00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:55,360
Speaker 1: and striking colors. The nineties were marked by a growing

13
00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:59,120
Speaker 1: economy and mass consumerism, and that was reflected in the

14
00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:02,800
Speaker 1: boom and sky scraper construction during the decade. There was

15
00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:07,160
Speaker 1: the Paramount Building, completed in nineteen and the Fuller Building,

16
00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,959
Speaker 1: designed by Walker and Gillette, was completed in nineteen Located

17
00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:15,280
Speaker 1: on Broadway in Manhattan, the Woolworth Building is seven hundred

18
00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,360
Speaker 1: and ninety two ft tall. When it opened in nineteen thirteen,

19
00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,120
Speaker 1: it became the tallest building in the world, but in

20
00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,080
Speaker 1: the late nineteen twenties there were other people buying for

21
00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:28,000
Speaker 1: that top spot. The Bank of Manhattan Trust Building, now

22
00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,880
Speaker 1: known as forty Wall Street was set to become the

23
00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:34,640
Speaker 1: tallest building in the world, but ultimately the Chrysler Building

24
00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,000
Speaker 1: would take the title. William H. Reynolds was a real

25
00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,280
Speaker 1: estate developer and a former New York State senator. He

26
00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:43,880
Speaker 1: had a long term lease on a property at Lexington

27
00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:48,040
Speaker 1: Avenue and forty two Street. He hired architect William Van

28
00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,080
Speaker 1: Allen to build an office tower called the Reynolds Building

29
00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,640
Speaker 1: at the site. It was supposed to rise to eight

30
00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,280
Speaker 1: hundred and eight feet and be topped with a glass crown.

31
00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,920
Speaker 1: It was also designed to have first floor showroom windows

32
00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,720
Speaker 1: that were tripled in height, as well as glass wrapped

33
00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,480
Speaker 1: corners so that it would look like it was floating,

34
00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:08,640
Speaker 1: but this design turned out to be too expensive and

35
00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:14,480
Speaker 1: to advanced for Reynolds. In October of Reynolds sold the project,

36
00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:19,440
Speaker 1: at least to Walter Chrysler, an auto industry executive. Chrysler

37
00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:21,920
Speaker 1: worked with Van Allen on a new design for the building.

38
00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,560
Speaker 1: It would be nine and twenty five ft tall and

39
00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:29,320
Speaker 1: served as the headquarters of the Chrysler Corporation. That said,

40
00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,480
Speaker 1: the corporation never owned the building, nor did it have

41
00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:37,000
Speaker 1: anything to do with this construction. Walter Chrysler personally financed

42
00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,560
Speaker 1: the construction of the building so he could pass it

43
00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,880
Speaker 1: on to his children. The building was constructed at an

44
00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:46,960
Speaker 1: average rate of four floors per week. At the same time, H.

45
00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,639
Speaker 1: Craig Severance, Van Allen's former partner, was working on the

46
00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,400
Speaker 1: Bank of Manhattan Trust Building, intending to make it the

47
00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:57,160
Speaker 1: tallest building in the world. But Van Allen was designing

48
00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,760
Speaker 1: a one eighty five ft spire, where was delivered to

49
00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,200
Speaker 1: the building in sections and secretly assembled. In November of

50
00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:09,280
Speaker 1: nineteen the spire was raised into position. Like many other

51
00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,240
Speaker 1: New York skyscrapers, the Chrysler Building was constructed with setbacks,

52
00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,240
Speaker 1: or the ziggarat like steps leading from the broad base

53
00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:20,000
Speaker 1: of the building to its tower. The first tenants moved

54
00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,000
Speaker 1: into the Chrysler Building in April of nineteen thirty, and

55
00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,680
Speaker 1: on May seven, formal opening ceremonies were held. The seventy

56
00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:30,360
Speaker 1: seven story building is known for its Art Deco design.

57
00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:35,720
Speaker 1: The corner ornamentation includes gargoyles, Chrysler radiator caps, and eagles.

58
00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,520
Speaker 1: It also has geometric decorations, and at one point it

59
00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:43,240
Speaker 1: had an observation deck on the seventy one floor. The

60
00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,800
Speaker 1: building got mixed reviews, with some people praising its modernism

61
00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:50,840
Speaker 1: and others criticizing it as unoriginal and meaningless. Less than

62
00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,240
Speaker 1: a year after it was built, the Empire State Building

63
00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,280
Speaker 1: surpassed the Chrysler Building as the tallest in the world,

64
00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,120
Speaker 1: but it is still the world's tallest still supported brick building.

65
00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,200
Speaker 1: In ninety six, the building was declared a National Historic Landmark.

66
00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:09,240
Speaker 1: I'm Eve Jeff Coo and hopefully you know a little

67
00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,440
Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. And if

68
00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,000
Speaker 1: you have any comments are suggestions, you can send them

69
00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:17,599
Speaker 1: to us via email at this day at i heeart

70
00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:19,919
Speaker 1: media dot com. You can also hit us up on

71
00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:24,159
Speaker 1: social media where at t d i HC podcast on Facebook, Twitter,

72
00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:27,039
Speaker 1: and Instagram. Thanks so much for listening to the show

73
00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:34,120
Speaker 1: and we'll see you tomorrow. For more podcasts from my

74
00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:36,799
Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

75
00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:38,599
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.