Part 1 – The first race for the sky (of 3) took place in Manhattan at the height of the Roaring 20s. The climax is a story fitting the crash that followed.

It’s mid-afternoon. A young photographer jumps off the subway at Park Place Station and dashes toward Vesey. It’s an important moment. After fresh rain, the sunset is giving the new WTC One a polish not seen before. She is just a few blocks away from the best photo opportunity to date of the new tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. Forgotten, back outside the subway station she leaped from, one building lies completely in its giant shadow. It’s the Woolworth Building. The building that started the first great race for the sky.

Race for the Sky – Part 1 (of 3)

Birth of the skyscraper

Nearly 125 years ago, the skyscraper was introduced to the world through tragedy. The Great Chicago Fire destroyed one of America’s most important cities. Booming both before and after the fire, the city needed a new form of building. A form to quench the thirst of real-estate developers clamoring for space in a congested downtown. A form that would also need to be fire resistant. With steel manufacturing and elevator technology in play, the skyscraper was born.

Beginning the Race for the Sky – Frank Woolworth in the clouds

Skyscrapers had been a public fascination already. But it 1913, imaginations would take a huge leap. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson would officially open the new Woolworth Building on April 24th. It was the tallest building in the world and would be for the next 15 years. But it was its presence that shifted how people saw skyscrapers. About 30 floors up, it was already the largest of its kind in Lower Town Manhattan. Then an imposing gothic tower raised another 30 stories above its podium to claim the sky emphatically.

Some years after it was completed, the famous cloud photo was taken. At the beginning of the booming 20s, one aerial view of the building would be the envy of budding empires across the nation.

The image of the Woolworth Building’s 792 foot (241 m) high spire peaking above the clouds was a testament to what man could build. And with the Roaring twenties just beginning, no big company could be complete without leaving their mark on the New York City skyline. Height being the measure of success. While many new skyscrapers would be erected during the 1920s, it wouldn’t be until the end of the decade when the Woolworth Building would be dethroned. Who knew it would also be the photo finish that would be the end of the first race for the sky.

Battle of the Empires

In the late 1920s, the Manhattan Company (now known as Chase -Manhattan) was already over 125 years old. The place to be was Wall Street and they wanted to make a statement. In April of 1929, they were to begin building what would be the tallest building in the world. A building that was just a short walk away from Frank Woolworth’s headquarters.

Meanwhile, up in Midtown, one of Detroit’s most powerful, Walter Chrysler, wanted to establish his presence on the Manhattan skyline as well. The Manhattan Company was well aware of Walter’s plans to build the tallest in Manhattan. To ensure they met their objectives, they modified their plans so their design would exceed Chrysler’s by a large margin. On Nov 12, 1929, Manhattan Company’s new building at 40 Wall Street topped out at 925 feet (282 m). Much higher than both Woolworth’s and the Chrysler Buiilding which was measured 808 feet (246 m). Manhattan Company would claim victory.

But in an instant, it was over…

The 185 foot secret

Just a few days later, the nearly complete Chrysler Building would reveal a secret it had been keeping for some time. Inside the fire shaft of the building, Walter Chrysler’s construction team had been putting the finishing touches on what is arguably the most iconic architectural feature of any building in the world. A 185 ft steel spire designed to resemble the Chrysler hubcaps was hoisted atop the building and riveted in place.

The Chrysler Building was opened soon after (May 1930). It is 1,046 feet tall (319 m).

Fall of Empires and rise of an Empire State in The Great Depression

Barely a day after the triumph of raising the Chrysler spire into place, the stock market plummeted and the Great Depression had begun on Black Tuesday. Still, not even a year later, a more imposing structure rose not too far from the Chrysler Building. The Empire State Building was completed in 1931. The most famous of New York City landmarks, at 1,250 ft (381 m), this one hundred story tower would reign champion of the sky for more than 40 years.

The Empire State Building is the most imposing skyscraper of the early 20 century Manhattan skyline. Still, the Chrysler and Manhattan Company competition was the symbolic climax of the first race for the sky.

Part 2 talks about the second race. One that took place a half century later.

VIDEO – Documentary about Chrysler Building

from Neil Gronowetter on Vimeo

[Key Sources / Literature: Skyscraperpage, A View on Cities, Inside the Apple, History Channel, City of New York

History of The Chrysler Building]