GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL, Chrysler Building

The Chrysler Building, a magnificent symbol of Art Deco and the masterwork of the architect William Van Allen, was completed in 1930, and was the highest skyscraper in the world before the Empire State Building.

The building was originally designed for William Reynolds, the founder of the Coney Island fairground. Reynolds, however, was alarmed by the audacious shape the building was to take, so he sold the design to the tycoon Walter P. Chrysler, who, at his own expense, turned it into the headquarters of the car manufacturing company.

If you look up this slender tower, you’ll be able to admire the variety of original decorative elements that are – and this is no coincidence – reminiscent of those found on a number of the best-known Chrysler car models.

Can you spot the metal decorations designed to resemble the winged radiator caps? Or the stylized wheels on the frieze with silver-colored hubcaps? Or the external air grilles, similar to side vents, or the disquieting stylized eagles, the symbol of the United States as well as the logo of one of the Chrysler models?

Lastly, take a look at the splendid stainless steel crown, terraced right up to the top and featuring arches with triangular windows spread out like the spokes of a wheel: it’s the building’s crowning glory!...