Between 1929 and 1931, as the economy collapsed, Manhattan staged its fiercest contest ever for the title of tallest building in the world. The Chrysler hid a secret spire to beat a Wall Street bank, and the Empire State overtook it eleven months later with a mast meant for airships, only to open almost empty. Twelve stops between the building shaped like an iron, the tower that copied a Venetian bell tower, the site that rose four floors a week, the giant New Yorkers nicknamed the Empty State, the black and gold building Georgia O'Keeffe painted, the library held up by its steel bookstacks, the gardens and the Prometheus statue of Rockefeller Center, the beam where eleven workers ate lunch, the skyscraper that paid for the subway in order to grow, the station saved from a tower and Walter Chrysler's stainless steel crown. Approximate audio duration: 24 minutes.
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Nueva York: la carrera hacia el cielo que se ganó en plena Depresión
Entre 1929 y 1931, mientras la economía se derrumbaba, Manhattan vivió la competencia más feroz de su historia por tener el edificio más alto del mundo. El Chrysler escondió una aguja secreta para ganarle a un banco de Wall Street, y el Empire State lo superó once meses después con un mástil pensado para dirigibles, aunque abrió casi vacío. Doce paradas entre el edificio con forma de plancha, la torre que copió un campanario veneciano, la obra que subió cuatro pisos por semana, el gigante que la ciudad apodó el Empty State, el edificio negro y dorado que pintó Georgia O'Keeffe, la biblioteca sostenida por sus estanterías de acero, los jardines y la estatua de Prometeo del Rockefeller Center, la viga donde almorzaron once obreros, el rascacielos que pagó el metro para poder crecer, la estación que se salvó de una torre y la corona de acero inoxidable de Walter Chrysler. Duración aproximada de audio: 24 minutos.
Tour stops
12 stops · ~24 min of audio · 4.35 km on foot (~1 h 5 min walking) · about 1 h 30 min in total
You are standing in front of a building that looks like a ship. Look at its tip: between Broadway and Fifth Avenue the triangle is so sharp that the front is only about two metres wide.
This is the Flatiron Building, completed in 1902. Its official name was the Fuller Building, after the company that built it. But New Yorkers instantly saw the shape of a clothes iron, and the nickname stuck for good.
It has twenty-two floors and stands about 87 metres tall. It was never the tallest in the world. But it was one of the first in the city to rest on a steel skeleton, which makes it the perfect s…
2
The Tower That Copied a Venetian Bell Tower
Look across the park, over Madison Avenue. That white tower with a clock on each face was, for four years, the tallest building in the world.
This is the Metropolitan Life tower, built for a life insurance company. It was finished in 1909 and rises about 213 metres, with fifty floors.
If you have ever been to Venice, the shape will look familiar. The architects, the firm of Napoleon LeBrun and Sons, drew on the bell tower of St Mark's Square. In 1902 that campanile had collapsed, and Venice was rebuilding it.
For an insurer, height was pure advertising. A tower visible from all over the cit…
3
The Empire State: Four Floors a Week
You are at the entrance to the Empire State Building on Fifth Avenue. From this close you cannot see the top. Tilt your head back: the facade steps back in tiers, higher and higher, until it disappears.
This site was once a luxury hotel, the original Waldorf-Astoria. It was demolished in 1929 to make way for this project. The hotel later moved to Park Avenue.
Behind the Empire State were John J. Raskob, a senior General Motors executive, and Pierre du Pont. The public face was Al Smith, former governor of New York. They announced it in August 1929. Two months later the stock market crashed.
…
4
The Airship Mast and the Empty State
From Herald Square, look southeast. Now you can see all of it: the Empire State with its crown of glass and metal and, on top, the antenna.
In 1929, when it was being planned, the Chrysler Building had not yet revealed its final height. The Empire State's owners kept raising their plans to be sure of winning. Late that year they announced the decisive blow: a mooring mast for airships.
With that mast the building reached 381 metres, well above the Chrysler's 319. The idea was that great dirigibles would dock at the tip and passengers would walk down a gangplank to the 102nd floor. It never w…
5
The Black and Gold Building and the Setback Law
You are at the southern edge of Bryant Park. Look across 40th Street: there is a black tower with a golden top, like a glowing ember. This is the American Radiator Building, from 1924.
It was commissioned by a company that made heating radiators. The architect Raymond Hood clad it in black brick and crowned its top with gold detailing. Lit up at night, it looked like burning coal, a perfect image for selling warmth.
In 1927 the painter Georgia O'Keeffe painted it at night, surrounded by lights. Today the building is a hotel.
Notice how it narrows as it rises. That is not just style: it is t…
6
The Library Held Up by Steel Bookstacks
You are in front of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue. Look at the two marble lions guarding the steps. In the 1930s Mayor Fiorello La Guardia named them Patience and Fortitude, the virtues he asked New Yorkers to show to get through the Depression.
The building opened in May 1911. It was designed by John Carrère and Thomas Hastings in the Beaux-Arts style they had learned in Paris: white marble, columns, perfect symmetry. This is the horizontal city, the one that existed before the vertical fever.
This site was once occupied by a huge reservoir, with walls like an Egyptian fortres…
7
Rockefeller Center: the Opera That Never Came
You have entered Rockefeller Center from Fifth Avenue. You are in the Channel Gardens, a promenade of flower beds sloping gently down towards a sunken plaza. At the far end glows a golden statue: Prometheus, by Paul Manship, from 1934.
This was meant to be something else. In 1928 John D. Rockefeller Jr., son of the oil magnate, leased this land from Columbia University. The plan was to build a new home for the Metropolitan Opera, surrounded by buildings that would pay for it.
Then came the crash of 1929, and the opera pulled out. Rockefeller was left tied to an enormous lease with no project…
8
30 Rock: Lunch on the Beam and the Destroyed Mural
In front of you is the central tower of Rockefeller Center, 30 Rockefeller Plaza. It was completed in 1933 as the RCA Building, named after the radio company. It stands about 259 metres tall, with seventy floors.
Look at its shape: a thin, vertical slab, with gentle setbacks and bands of stone climbing without a break. Among its architects was Raymond Hood, the man behind the black and gold building at Bryant Park.
In September 1932, during construction, one of the most famous photographs of the century was taken here: eleven workers eating lunch on a beam, legs dangling over Manhattan. It i…
9
One Vanderbilt: the Skyscraper That Paid to Grow
You are at the corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue. Look up: that glass tower tapering in angled planes is One Vanderbilt, completed in 2020. It stands 427 metres tall.
It is the modern heir to the race of the thirties. When finished, its roof stood higher than the Empire State's, although the old giant's antenna still reaches a little further.
Notice its faces, narrowing diagonally as they climb. Many see in that play of facets a nod to the crown of the Chrysler, two blocks away.
The most interesting part, though, is how it won permission to be so tall. In 2015 the city approved ne…
10
Grand Central, the Station Saved from a Tower
You are facing Grand Central Terminal on 42nd Street. Look above the central window: a Tiffany glass clock and a sculpture group with Mercury in the middle, flanked by Hercules and Minerva.
The station opened in February 1913. But the story begins with a tragedy. In January 1902, two steam trains collided in the smoke-filled Park Avenue tunnel, and fifteen people died.
After the accident, the engineer William Wilgus pushed through a bold plan: electrify the trains and bury all the tracks. With no smoke, the tracks could go underground, and the space above could be built on.
That is how Park…
11
The Chrysler: a Skyscraper That Is a Car
You are at the corner of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Tilt your head back: the gleaming steel crown with its arches and triangular windows belongs to the Chrysler Building, for many the most beautiful skyscraper in New York.
It was commissioned by the carmaker Walter Chrysler. He paid for it with his own money, not his company's: he wanted it to be his, a personal monument. Work began in 1928, before the crash.
Look at the details, because the whole building talks about cars. Around the 31st floor there is a frieze shaped like hubcaps and, at the corners, ornaments imitating winged radi…
12
The Secret Spire and the Eleven-Month Victory
You have walked a few steps along 42nd Street. From here, look at the top of the Chrysler: that thin steel needle crowning the dome. That needle is the star of the race.
Van Alen had it made in secret and assembled it in sections inside the dome, hidden in plain sight. On 23 October 1929 it was hoisted up from within. In about an hour and a half it was in place.
With it, the Chrysler reached 319 metres. It overtook 40 Wall Street and the Eiffel Tower as well. It was the first man-made structure to pass a thousand feet, about 305 metres.
Six days after that manoeuvre came Black Tuesday, the …
How long does the "New York: the Race to the Sky That Was Won in the Depths of the Depression" audio tour take?
It has about 24 minutes of audio across 12 stops and a 4.35 km walking route (~1 h 5 min on foot). Plan roughly 1 h 30 min in total, or split it up: you can pause and resume anytime.
Where does the tour start?
At stop 1, "The Flatiron, Manhattan's Prow" (coordinates 40.7416, -73.9894). The app guides you from stop to stop with a map.
Is it free?
Trevurs is a free app for iOS and Android. There is also an optional Premium version, from USD 1.99, with unlimited offline downloads, access to every tour and no ads. It also helps keep an independent app alive.
Why use an audio tour instead of a guided group tour?
No group to keep up with and no guide to wait for. Start at any time of day, on your own schedule. Go at your own pace: pause, rewind or skip any stop. No need to commit 2 or 3 hours to a single tour: do one stop or the whole route. Works offline once downloaded.
What languages is this audio guide available in?
This tour is available in Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian. Switch languages anytime from inside the app.
Do I need wifi to listen to this tour?
No. Download the tour over wifi before you go, then listen without any data connection.
How do I access this tour?
Download Trevurs on iPhone (App Store) or Android (Google Play), then open New York and pick "New York: the Race to the Sky That Was Won in the Depths of the Depression". No account required to start.
