Customer Reviews

The Chrysler Building: Creating a New York Icon Day by Day

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is very expensive, but very worth it.

As described, the author discovered, almost by accident, a real treasure trove of exquisitely high quality photographs taken to document the building's completion to architectural specification. Rounding out a wonderfully detailed description of the economic and entrepreneurial forces behind its construction, these beautiful pictures bring the reader back into not just a major building project but a whole era. See the clothes, the cars - everything that made this a pinnacle of American exuberance and optimism.

While the text is good, you might want to look at two other better examples of stories of the buildings that symbolized this era: John Tauranac's book on the Empire State building and "Great Fortune," Daniel Okrent's rendering of "The Epic of Rockefeller Center."

They were hard times, to be sure, but often remembered with special fondness for those things which symbolized what we aspired.

Author David Stravitz wisely bought over five hundred, soon to be destroyed, negatives in 1979. They pictured New York in the 1920s and 30s and in particular one hundred and fifty showed the day by day construction of the Chrysler Building. Over a hundred of them are reproduced in this stunning book. Taken by commercial photographers Peyser & Patzig, most likely as a record for the contractor Fred Ley, they show the building as a hole in the ground on November nine 1929 to the completion of the annex in January nine 1931.

There is something about pre-war photos, perhaps the chemicals used on glass plates or the type of paper used for the black and white prints but whatever, old photos seem to have a richness of texture that enhances their appearance and you certainly notice this in these pictures. As well as their quality (don't forget this was straightforward commercial photo assignment) there is plenty to see of the building construction, what is going on in the surrounding streets and several panoramas of mid-town Manhattan taken from the Chrysler Building, including a dramatic four-page gatefold.

This is the sort of detail you'll see, pages eight and nine show the empty building site (taken on November nine) and traffic on three sides, turn the page to see a photo (November seventeen) showing dozens of male spectators looking down on the building site, now full of working construction equipment, traffic and a newsstand has appeared on a corner, by December one this newsstand has become a hut and incorporated into the fencing that now runs round the site. After the exterior, the cameraman went inside to capture the lovely deco detailing.

In the back of the book there are thumbnails and captions for the photos. Page 154 has five floor plans (I was rather disappointed that there were not more diagrams showing the exterior decorative work) and you realise that the building is not oblong, the non-street end has a chamfered side. Just one of the many insights that you'll get from this fascinating photo study of one of the world's great landmarks.

This is a wonderful book with amazing vintage black and white period photos. The book mostly focuses on the building of the skyscraper in the 30's and my only qualm with the book is the lack of current photos of the building, but that is a minor critisism and should not reflect on the overall excellent quality of the book. The Chrysler Building is a pinnacle of Art Deco style and I love it. The history of the building is so interesting and story of the spire is such a quenticential New York moment. I recomend this book to anyone who loves the romance of the skyscraper and this one is magical.

This book takes you on a journey into the past with this thoughtfully displayed, step by step photographic documentation of the construction of the Chrysler Building. The book is well organized, displaying all of the full page photographs sequentially. All written information is in the back of the book. The photographs come alive on the pages. This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone even minutely interested in New York history!

This is a beautiful book of photographs. However, I was quite diappointed in the fact that there is very little text in this book. The history of the building of the Chrysler Building is fascinating, yet explanations and descriptions are non-existent in this book. One would have to buy another book to learn of all the facts, the building process, the "competition" with the Empire State Building, or the architect, who was never truly recognized and compensated for this magnificent work of art. It is a nice book to add to a collection, but I would seek out a more comprehensive book to get a true and complete picture of the masterpiece of the Chrysler Building.

Those of us who have lived our lives in the shadows of the Chrysler Building have always been captivated by her presence in the cityscape and as a metaphor for the majesty and possibility of our New York. The New York of strivings and limitless possibilities; a place of glamour and solid purpose. Mr. Stravitz's unveiling of his treasure trove of visual gems creates a captivating collage. We are immersed in the furious intensity of edifice creation at the same time we see a New York where people still had time to stop and gaze and converse. The Building itself is of course center stage, its social and aesthetic signifigance ringing forth elegantly from each photographic plate. Text could only have detracted from the purpose of this captivating book which the author so admirably achieves.

This is it.
This is the one you want, if you have a love for the Chrysler building's construction, her insides and outsides.
Beautiful photos - all black and white, in a beautifully presented book. It creates a brilliant record of the construction of one of the most loved buildings in the world.
Highly recommended.

This great coffee-table book is a truly amazing collection of large-format documentary photographs that spectacularly detail the construction of New York City's most exuberant skyscraper. The richness and depth of the photos is incredible: they just don't make `em like that anymore. Besides showcasing the creation of this Art Deco masterpiece, the pictures reveal an astonishing amount of life and history in the surrounding streetscapes, also beautifully captured in the big-really big-format, which includes two double-size centerfolds! The story behind the book is fascinating, too: the glass-plate negatives, dating from the late 1920s and early `30s, gathered dust for decades, then-as they were about to be destroyed so the silver in them could be reclaimed-they were discovered and saved by New York designer David Stravitz. Any Deco or architecture buff would be thrilled to get this book as a gift.

If you are a Chrysler Building enthusiast, supporter, collector, historian, architecture buff, this is a wonderful book. It provides a fascinating look at construction and architectural details never seen for any building, let alone this one, which has far too few images available and does not take kindly to visitors and tourists. The quality and quantity of the images only make you want a volume 2. It is easily one of my most treasured books on architecture subjects. I think I liked it.

Fantastic book filled with b/w photos of the construction of the Chrysler Building in New York City. Dated and in chronological order. Very little prose to go with the photos, which is what probably makes it so enjoyable. Probably a great read for those with an unabiding love for New York. Also worthwhile for fans of Walter Percy Chrysler and some of his non automotive ventures. I enjoyed looking at the dates and trying to visualize some of the sociological and economic ramifications of a project this big that started before the Great Crash and would end after the good times had ended. Fascinating for fans of art deco architecture as well. Worth the time and very little effort needed to enjoy it. Well done.