Building Chrysler Building in Lower Midtown. 405 Lexington Ave corner of 42nd Street. This skyscraper of 319 is also a symbol of the city and a magnificent example of Art Deco architectural style. It was designed in 1930 by William Van Alen to be the hub automobilis Chrysler brand, being the tallest building in the world for a few months until the Empire State building. The decoration of the tower is based on the hubcaps that the mark was using at the moment. The gargoyles of the 61st floor of an eagle-shaped and the corners of the 31st floor is a replica of the caps that were placed on car radiators. The needle placed at the top of the building, known as vertex, was a secret until it was placed through a false ceiling, thus gaining nearly 61 meters high, enough to overcome his rival in height, the Bank located in Manhattan No. 40 Wall Street. Van Alen never claimed the bill for the construction of the building to be charged by the firm to charge commissions and bribes from contractors awarded the work. In the 20 years after the First World War, there was great economic expansion in Europe and the United States was accompanied by the need for new buildings. In the mid-'20s, the builder and developer William H. Reynolds began planning the construction of a skyscraper on a site at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Reynolds entrusted the project to William Van Allen, an architect from Brooklyn who, like Reynolds, had no expertise in high-rise buildings. Until then, the project were only sketches until Walter Percy Chrysler, owns the Chrysler automobile company, was interested in this building and in 1928 gave the green light for the construction will cost $ 15 million budget. Work began in autumn 1928 with the excavation for the foundation by removing over 38,500 cubic meters of earth and rock. A month later began the placement of concrete foundations and steel. Each pillar of the foundation weighs 35 tons and can carry 10 times its weight. The building was constructed at a high speed, with an average of 4 floors per week. The skeleton of the dome is made of curved steel beams. The interior walls are brick dome but the exterior is covered with a stainless steel type called Nirosta. No one had used this type of steel for this purpose and was himself Walter P. Chrysler who chose this material for its properties and quality stainless homogeneous uniform that needs no maintenance. The steel plates were manipulated in a workshop set up for this purpose within the building. After roofers were put into place, the soldered and sealed with lead white. A total of 30 tons of steel used in the roof Nirosta and other ornaments of the building as the eagles. The Eagles are one of the most outstanding building. There are eight in total, two in each corner, and are designed by Chesley Bonestell a designer friend of Van Allen. The eagles were carved in steel plates Nirosta in a separate workshop and then installed in the building on a pedestal of iron.