Architecture is the art and science of planning, designing and constructing buildings or any other structures. This art form expresses how we portray ourselves across the Earth’s landscape and similar to other art forms changes with technological advances and cultural adaptions. Buildings and structures not only provide a means of shelter, workspace, and storage but also houses human ideals in buildings like courthouses and manifestations of faith in churches and temples. Architecture “is the art that we cannot avoid” as it surrounds us and is part of our everyday lives. Buildings and structures affect us and mold our behaviors as we live around it. With technological advances and culture affecting buildings, architecture provides great insight into the past and present.

​

            For this project, I visited Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Building; these two structures significantly differ in design as well as function. In 1871, the Grand Central Depot was opened, however, struggled to meet the demands of the 20th-century city. After thirty years, the rail tunnels could not handle the intense traffic and the building lacked modern conveniences and signaling technology as well as the infrastructure for electric rail lines. As a result of being designed for three independent railroad companies, the three separate waiting rooms were always crowded and the overall terminal was badly outdated and inefficient. In 1903, the Central set out to find architects to develop designs for the new terminal. Design competitions for major projects were common and for the Grand Central Station, architects Reed & Stem had won. The Grand Central Station was designed for speed and efficiency. As a result, these architects’ proposals included pedestrian ramps and a ramp-like roadway outside that wrapped around the building to connect the northern and southern halves of Park Avenue. This solved the problem of how to provide for the movement of people into, out of, and through the building. Using inclined ramps would allow large numbers of people to move smoothly to and from their trains; today, we still have ramps and even stairways, escalators and underground passages to nearby buildings to keep traffic in Grand Central Station moving smoothly. The station hired another firm Warren & Wetmore to make sure the station would be truly grand. Reed & Stem were responsible for the overall design of the station and Warren & Wetmore were responsible for adding the architectural details in Beaux-Arts style.

​

          This style of architecture combines and adds to elements from Greek and Roman classical structures. The Beaux-Arts style is evident in Grand Central Station through its columns, sculptural decorations, and grand archways. The terminal resembles an ancient temple with its Corinthian columns, celestial ceiling and its grand archways featuring statues of the Roman gods. The architects bought Parisian artist, Sylvian Salieres to craft bronze and stone carvings, including ornamental inscriptions, and sculpted oak leaves and acorns (symbols of the Vanderbilt family) for the interior. The Grand Concourse is bordered by small lunette windows with concave decorative moldings. The lunette windows high on the south wall invites the sun’s rays, which stream in to illuminate part of the floor and soften its harsh marble. The ceiling on the Grand Central Station was designed by Paul César Helleu and portrays elaborately decorated the astronomical ceiling. The sky is backward, and the stars are slightly displaced. From the outside in Park Avenue, one can see the great, long rectangular windows of Grand Central Station, which also adds to the Beaux-Arts style. The columns line up with the windows and provide greater depth to the façade. On the top of the windows lays a horizontal cornice, and above that lays the heavy roof. The Grand Central Terminal’s southern façade was modeled after a Roman triumphal arch, symbolizing the triumph of the railroad. It was thought to be a gateway to the city and depicts Mercury supported by Minerva and Hercules. Today, the Grand Central Station appears to be dwarfed in size as a result of the massive buildings surrounding it.

     

            In comparison to the Grand Central Station, the Chrysler Building is a magnificent skyscraper that was built to become the tallest building in the world. The Chrysler building began as a collaboration between architect William Van Alen and contractor William H Reynolds. Van Alen’s original design was very challenging containing a decorative ‘diamond’ crowd, showroom windows that were tripled in height and topped with a twelve-story section of glass corners. However, his designs proved to be too expensive and advanced for Reynolds’ likening and as a result, sold the design to industrialist Walter P. Chrysler. Van Alen and Chrysler's mission were to go for the title of the tallest building in the world. The building obtained this title for eleven months in 1930 before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building. Unlike the Grand Central Station, the Chrysler Building is a classic example of Art Deco architecture. This style of architecture was developed in the 1920s and is recognizable by its elegant geometric patterns. The designs often borrow themes from ancient sources such as Egypt and Greece. Art Deco is evident in the lobby of the Chrysler Building. Similarly, to the Grand Central Station, the Chrysler Building has a mural on its ceiling. However, the Chrysler Building’s mural is filled with Deco triangles, sharp angles, slightly curved lines, chrome detailing, and a multitude of patterns, which is a tribute to the age in which it was created. The mural depicts an image of the Chrysler Building as well as tributes to the airplane and the age of flight. Another difference between the two buildings is functionality. Unlike the Grand Central Station, which primarily function is transportation, the Chrysler Building has been the home to many New York Businesses. Many of the building’s initial purposes included being an active transmitter for radio and television stations as a result of the building massive height. Despite being a significant function at the time, commercial broadcast stations no longer reside in the skyscraper.

​

​

Works Cited

 

“Grand By Design: A History of Grand Central Terminal.” Grand Central Terminal, New York Transit Museum,

             www.grandcentralterminal.com/history/.

Gray, Christopher. “Streetscapes: The Chrysler Building; Skyscraper's Place in the Sun.” The New York Times, The New York

             Times, 17 Dec. 1995, www.nytimes.com/1995/12/17/realestate/streetscapes-the-chrysler-building-skyscraper-s-place-in-

             the-sun.html.

Roberts, Sam. “100 Years of Grandeur.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Jan. 2013,     

             www.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/nyregion/the-birth-of-grand-central-terminal-100-years-later.html.