The Machines That Built the Chrysler Building (1928-1930)

A single derrick rated for 20 tons raised a 27-ton spire through the Chrysler Building's own roof in 90 minutes — and nobody outside the project knew it was coming. This is the full construction story of the world's most beautiful skyscraper, told through the machines that built it. ☕ Support the channel: https://buymeacoffee.com/construction... On October 23, 1929 — one day before the stock market crash — architect William Van Alen won the most dramatic height race in construction history by secretly assembling a 185-foot spire inside the building's central fire-tower court and lifting it through the dome with an overloaded guy derrick. Post & McCord, the same steel erection crew that would go on to build the Empire State Building using the same equipment, drove 391,881 rivets and erected 20,961 tons of Carnegie steel at four floors per week using self-climbing guy derricks that caterpillared up the building two stories at a time. Mohawk Skywalkers from the Kahnawà:ke reservation riveted steel while speaking Kanien'kéha 1,000 feet above Lexington Avenue. The stainless steel crown — Krupp Nirosta, the first architectural use of austenitic stainless steel in America — was hand-fabricated in airborne workshops on the 67th and 75th floors because the compound curves defeated every template tried on the ground. And across 3,000 workers, 20 months of construction, and zero harnesses — not a single man died during the steel erection. 0:00 The 27-ton spire raised in 90 minutes 8:19 Steel erection begins — Carnegie steel and guy derricks 16:32 391,881 rivets and the riveting gangs 23:19 The secret spire — assembled inside the building 26:59 Zero fatalities — the impossible safety record Sources & further reading: Neal Bascomb, "Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky" (2003); William Van Alen, "The Structure and Metal Work of the Chrysler Building," Architectural Forum (October 1930); Popular Science Monthly (August 1930); Engineering News-Record; Skyscraper Museum archives; David Stravitz, "The Chrysler Building: Creating a New York Icon" (2002). Archival photographs from the Library of Congress and public domain collections. All footage used under fair use for educational documentary commentary (17 U.S.C. § 107). #ChryslerBuilding #ConstructionHistory #Skyscraper #ArtDeco #HeavyEquipment #1920s #NewYorkCity #WilliamVanAlen #GuyDerrick #SteelErection #MohawkIronworkers #Skywalkers #NirostaSteel ▶ Subscribe for more construction history:    / @constructionlegends