Chrysler Building, New York, USA 1932 and 2006
The Chrysler Building, pictured two years after its May 1930 completion, is a wonder of the Art Deco style. From the series of squares and rectangles at its base to the triangles arranged to create arches, it focuses on using geometric forms as architectural art. At 1,048 feet from base to spire, it was the tallest building in the world – for one year, until the Empire State Building took the title in 1931. But the 1932 and 2006 images show much more than the iconic Chrysler building – it shows the evolution of New York City over seventy-four years. The images show the development of New York’s Upper East Side neighborhoods near the Queensborough Bridge. Few of the 1932 buildings are visible, either demolished or overtaken by newer development. Skyscrapers built around the iconic Chrysler Building gets taller seem to swallow up the former “tallest building in the world.”