The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco-style skyscraper located on the East Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in the Turtle Bay neighborhood. At 318.9m, the structure was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931.
It is the tallest brick building in the world, with a steel structure. After the destruction of the World Trade Center, it was again the second-tallest building in New York City until December 2007, when the spire was raised onto the 1,200-foot Bank of America Tower, making the Chrysler building the third tallest building in New York. In addition, The New York Times Building, which opened in 2007, is exactly level with the Chrysler Building in height. Both buildings were then demoted to fourth tallest building in the city, when the under-construction One World Trade Center surpassed their height, and then to fifth position by 432 Park Avenue, which was completed in 2015.
The Chrysler Building is a classic example of Art Deco architecture and considered by many contemporary architects to be one of the finest buildings in New York City. In 2007, it was ranked ninth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects. It was the headquarters of the Chrysler Corporation from 1930 until the mid-1950s. Although the building was built and designed specifically for the car manufacturer, the corporation did not pay for the construction of it and never owned it, as Walter P. Chrysler decided to pay for it himself, so that his children could inherit it.