its_dramatic photos on Flickr

Dunnottar Castle Ruins 15th Century Scottish Highlands 2018 by DanoAberdeen

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I first visited Dunnottar Castle summer 2017, this magnificent castle sits high on a hill, last time I visited I captured my shots from the cliffs overlooking the site, though today I made the journey up the hill and entered the castle walls , wow what a magnificent experience, just perfect with loads of great photo opportunities to capture real Scottish history,after two hours wandering around and capturing as many shots that caught my eye , I made my way home, a magnificent experience indeed.

Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope" is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Stonehaven.

The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and defensive strength. Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.

The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.

The ruins of the castle are spread over 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres), surrounded by steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 50 metres (160 ft) below. A narrow strip of land joins the headland to the mainland, along which a steep path leads up to the gatehouse.

The various buildings within the castle include the 14th-century tower house as well as the 16th-century palace. Dunnottar Castle is a scheduled monument, and twelve structures on the site are listed buildings.

History

Early Middle Ages

A chapel at Dunnottar is said to have been founded by St Ninian in the 5th century, although it is not clear when the site was first fortified, but in any case the legend is late and highly implausible. Possibly the earliest written reference to the site is found in the Annals of Ulster which record two sieges of "Dún Foither" in 681 and 694.

The earlier event has been interpreted as an attack by Brude, the Pictish king of Fortriu, to extend his power over the north-east coast of Scotland. The Scottish Chronicle records that King Domnall II, the first ruler to be called rí Alban (King of Alba), was killed at Dunnottar during an attack by Vikings in 900. King Aethelstan of Wessex led a force into Scotland in 934, and raided as far north as Dunnottar according to the account of Symeon of Durham. W. D. Simpson speculated that a motte might lie under the present caste, but excavations in the 1980s failed to uncover substantive evidence of early medieval fortification.

The discovery of a group of Pictish stones at Dunnicaer, a nearby sea stack, has prompted speculation that "Dún Foither" was actually located on the adjacent headland of Bowduns, 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) to the north.

Later Middle Ages

During the reign of King William the Lion (ruled 1165–1214) Dunnottar was a center of local administration for The Mearns. The castle is named in the Roman de Fergus, an early 13th-century Arthurian romance, in which the hero Fergus must travel to Dunnottar to retrieve a magic shield.

In May 1276 a church on the site was consecrated by William Wishart, Bishop of St Andrews. The poet Blind Harry relates that William Wallace captured Dunnottar from the English in 1297, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is said to have imprisoned 4,000 defeated English soldiers in the church and burned them alive.

In 1336 Edward III of England ordered William Sinclair, 8th Baron of Roslin, to sail eight ships to the partially ruined Dunnottar for the purpose of rebuilding and fortifying the site as a forward resupply base for his northern campaign. Sinclair took with him 160 soldiers, horses, and a corps of masons and carpenters.

Edward himself visited in July, but the English efforts were undone before the end of the year when the Scottish Regent Sir Andrew Murray led a force that captured and again destroyed the defences of Dunnottar.

In the 14th century Dunnottar was granted to William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland (d.1370), and in 1346 a licence to crenellate was issued by David II. Around 1359 William Keith, Marischal of Scotland, married Margaret Fraser, niece of Robert the Bruce, and was granted the barony of Dunnottar at this time. Keith then gave the lands of Dunnottar to his daughter Christian and son-in-law William Lindsay of Byres, but in 1392 an excambion (exchange) was agreed whereby Keith regained Dunnottar and Lindsay took lands in Fife.

William Keith completed construction of the tower house at Dunnottar, but was excommunicated for building on the consecrated ground associated with the parish church. Keith had provided a new parish church closer to Stonehaven, but was forced to write to the Pope, Benedict XIII, who issued a bull in 1395 lifting the excommunication.William Keith's descendents were created Earls Marischal in the mid 15th century, and they held Dunottar until the 18th century.

16th century rebuilding

Through the 16th century the Keiths improved and expanded their principal seats: at Dunnottar and also at Keith Marischal in East Lothian. James IV visited Dunnottar in 1504, and in 1531 James V exempted the Earl's men from military service on the grounds that Dunnottar was one of the "principall strenthis of our realme".

Mary, Queen of Scots, visited in 1562 after the Battle of Corrichie, and returned in 1564.

James VI stayed for 10 days in 1580, as part of a progress through Fife and Angus, during which a meeting of the Privy Council was convened at Dunnottar.

During a rebellion of Catholic nobles in 1592, Dunnottar was captured by a Captain Carr on behalf of the Earl of Huntly, but was restored to Lord Marischal just a few weeks later.

In 1581 George Keith succeeded as 5th Earl Marischal, and began a large scale reconstruction that saw the medieval fortress converted into a more comfortable home. The founder of Marischal College in Aberdeen, the 5th Earl valued Dunnottar as much for its dramatic situation as for its security.

A "palace" comprising a series of ranges around a quadrangle was built on the north-eastern cliffs, creating luxurious living quarters with sea views. The 13th-century chapel was restored and incorporated into the quadrangle.

An impressive stone gatehouse was constructed, now known as Benholm's Lodging, featuring numerous gun ports facing the approach. Although impressive, these are likely to have been fashionable embellishments rather than genuine defensive features.

Civil wars

Further information: Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms

In 1639 William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, came out in support of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian movement who opposed the established Episcopal Church and the changes which Charles I was attempting to impose. With James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, he marched against the Catholic James Gordon, 2nd Viscount Aboyne, Earl of Huntly, and defeated an attempt by the Royalists to seize Stonehaven. However, when Montrose changed sides to the Royalists and marched north, Marischal remained in Dunnottar, even when given command of the area by Parliament, and even when Montrose burned Stonehaven.

Marischal then joined with the Engager faction, who had made a deal with the king, and led a troop of horse to the Battle of Preston (1648) in support of the royalists.

Following the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Engagers gave their allegiance to his son and heir: Charles II was proclaimed king, arriving in Scotland in June 1650. He visited Dunnottar in July 1650, but his presence in Scotland prompted Oliver Cromwell to lead a force into Scotland, defeating the Scots at Dunbar in September 1650.

The Honours of Scotland

Charles II was crowned at Scone Palace on 1 January 1651, at which the Honours of Scotland (the regalia of crown, sword and sceptre) were used. However, with Cromwell's troops in Lothian, the honours could not be returned to Edinburgh. The Earl Marischal, as Marischal of Scotland, had formal responsibility for the honours, and in June the Privy Council duly decided to place them at Dunnottar.

They were brought to the castle by Katherine Drummond, hidden in sacks of wool. Sir George Ogilvie (or Ogilvy) of Barras was appointed lieutenant-governor of the castle, and given responsibility for its defence.

In November 1651 Cromwell's troops called on Ogilvie to surrender, but he refused. During the subsequent blockade of the castle, the removal of the Honours of Scotland was planned by Elizabeth Douglas, wife of Sir George Ogilvie, and Christian Fletcher, wife of James Granger, minister of Kinneff Parish Church. The king's papers were first removed from the castle by Anne Lindsay, a kinswoman of Elizabeth Douglas, who walked through the besieging force with the papers sewn into her clothes.

Two stories exist regarding the removal of the honours themselves. Fletcher stated in 1664 that over the course of three visits to the castle in February and March 1652, she carried away the crown, sceptre, sword and sword-case hidden amongst sacks of goods. Another account, given in the 18th century by a tutor to the Earl Marischal, records that the honours were lowered from the castle onto the beach, where they were collected by Fletcher's servant and carried off in a creel (basket) of seaweed. Having smuggled the honours from the castle, Fletcher and her husband buried them under the floor of the Old Kirk at Kinneff.

Meanwhile, by May 1652 the commander of the blockade, Colonel Thomas Morgan, had taken delivery of the artillery necessary for the reduction of Dunnottar. Ogilvie surrendered on 24 May, on condition that the garrison could go free. Finding the honours gone, the Cromwellians imprisoned Ogilvie and his wife in the castle until the following year, when a false story was put about suggesting that the honours had been taken overseas.

Much of the castle property was removed, including twenty-one brass cannons,[28] and Marischal was required to sell further lands and possessions to pay fines imposed by Cromwell's government.

At the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the honours were removed from Kinneff Church and returned to the king. Ogilvie quarrelled with Marischal's mother over who would take credit for saving the honours, though he was eventually rewarded with a baronetcy. Fletcher was awarded 2,000 merks by Parliament but the sum was never paid.

Whigs and Jacobites

Religious and political conflicts continued to be played out at Dunnottar through the 17th and early 18th centuries. In 1685, during the rebellion of the Earl of Argyll against the new king James VII, 167 Covenanters were seized and held in a cellar at Dunnottar. The prisoners included 122 men and 45 women associated with the Whigs, an anti-Royalist group within the Covenanter movement, and had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the new king.

The Whigs were imprisoned from 24 May until late July. A group of 25 escaped, although two of these were killed in a fall from the cliffs, and another 15 were recaptured. Five prisoners died in the vault, and 37 of the Whigs were released after taking the oath of allegiance.

The remaining prisoners were transported to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as part of a colonisation scheme devised by George Scot of Pitlochie. Many, like Scot himself, died on the voyage.

The cellar, located beneath the "King's Bedroom" in the 16th-century castle buildings, has since become known as the "Whigs' Vault".

Both the Jacobites (supporters of the exiled Stuarts) and the Hanoverians (supporters of George I and his descendents) used Dunnottar Castle. In 1689 during Viscount Dundee's campaign in support of the deposed James VII, the castle was garrisoned for William and Mary with Lord Marischal appointed captain.

Seventeen suspected Jacobites from Aberdeen were seized and held in the fortress for around three weeks, including George Liddell, professor of mathematics at Marischal College.

In the Jacobite Rising of 1715 George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal, took an active role with the rebels, leading cavalry at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. After the subsequent abandonment of the rising Lord Marischal fled to the Continent, eventually becoming French ambassador for Frederick the Great of Prussia. Meanwhile, in 1716, his titles and estates including Dunnottar were declared forfeit to the crown.

Later history

The seized estates of the Earl Marischal were purchased in 1720 for £41,172, by the York Buildings Company who dismantled much of the castle.

In 1761 the Earl briefly returned to Scotland and bought back Dunnottar only to sell it five years later to Alexander Keith, an Edinburgh lawyer who served as Knight Marischal of Scotland.

Dunnottar was inherited in 1852 by Sir Patrick Keith-Murray of Ochtertyre, who in turn sold it in July 1873 to Major Alexander Innes of Cowie and Raemoir for about £80,000.

It was purchased by Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray, in 1925 after which his wife embarked on a programme of repairs.

Since that time the castle has remained in the family, and has been open to the public, attracting 52,500 visitors in 2009.

Dunnottar Castle, and the headland on which is stands, was designated as a scheduled monument in 1970.In 1972 twelve of the structures at Dunnottar were listed.

Three buildings are listed at category A as being of "national importance": the keep; the entrance gateway; and Benholm's Lodging.

The remaining listings are at category B as being of "regional importance".[39] The Hon. Charles Anthony Pearson, the younger son of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray, currently owns and runs Dunnottar Castle which is part of the 210-square-kilometre (52,000-acre) Dunecht Estates.

Portions of the 1990 film Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, were shot there.

Description

Dunnottar's strategic location allowed its owners to control the coastal terrace between the North Sea cliffs and the hills of the Mounth, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) inland, which enabled access to and from the north-east of Scotland.

The site is accessed via a steep, 800-metre (2,600 ft) footpath (with modern staircases) from a car park on the coastal road, or via a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) cliff-top path from Stonehaven. Dunnottar's several buildings, put up between the 13th and 17th centuries, are arranged across a headland covering around 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres).

The dominant building, viewed from the land approach, is the 14th-century keep or tower house. The other principal buildings are the gatehouse; the chapel; and the 16th-century "palace" which incorporates the "Whigs' Vault".

Defences

The approach to the castle is overlooked by outworks on the "Fiddle Head", a promontory on the western side of the headland. The entrance is through the well-defended main gate, set in a curtain wall which entirely blocks a cleft in the rocky cliffs.

The gate has a portcullis and has been partly blocked up. Alongside the main gate is the 16th-century Benholm's Lodging, a five-storey building cut into the rock, which incorporated a prison with apartments above.

Three tiers of gun ports face outwards from the lower floors of Benholm's Lodging, while inside the main gate, a group of four gun ports face the entrance. The entrance passage then turns sharply to the left, running underground through two tunnels to emerge near the tower house.

Simpson contends that these defences are "without exception the strongest in Scotland", although later writers have doubted the effectiveness of the gun ports. Cruden notes that the alignment of the gun ports in Benholm's Lodging, facing across the approach rather than along, means that they are of limited efficiency.

The practicality of the gun ports facing the entrance has also been questioned, though an inventory of 1612 records that four brass cannons were placed here.

A second access to the castle leads up from a rocky cove, the aperture to a marine cave on the northern side of the Dunnottar cliffs into which a small boat could be brought. From here a steep path leads to the well-fortified postern gate on the cliff top, which in turn offers access to the castle via the Water Gate in the palace.

Artillery defences, taking the form of earthworks, surround the north-west corner of the castle, facing inland, and the south-east, facing seaward. A small sentry box or guard house stands by the eastern battery, overlooking the coast.

Tower house and surrounding buildings

The tower house of Dunnottar, viewed from the west

The late 14th-century tower house has a stone-vaulted basement, and originally had three further storeys and a garret above.

Measuring 12 by 11 metres (39 by 36 ft), the tower house stood 15 metres (49 ft) high to its gable. The principal rooms included a great hall and a private chamber for the lord, with bedrooms upstairs.

Beside the tower house is a storehouse, and a blacksmith's forge with a large chimney. A stable block is ranged along the southern edge of the headland. Nearby is Waterton's Lodging, also known as the Priest's House, built around 1574, possibly for the use of William Keith (died 1580), son of the 4th Earl Marischal.

This small self-contained house includes a hall and kitchen at ground level, with private chambers above, and has a projecting spiral stair on the north side. It is named for Thomas Forbes of Waterton, an attendant of the 7th Earl.

The palace

The palace, to the north-east of the headland, was built in the late 16th century and early to mid-17th century. It comprises three main wings set out around a quadrangle, and for the most part is probably the work of the 5th Earl Marischal who succeeded in 1581.

It provided extensive and comfortable accommodation to replace the rooms in the tower house. In its long, low design it has been compared to contemporary English buildings, in contrast to the Scottish tradition of taller towers still prevalent in the 16th century.

Seven identical lodgings are arranged along the west range, each opening onto the quadrangle and including windows and fireplace. Above the lodgings the west range comprised a 35-metre (115 ft) gallery. Now roofless, the gallery originally had an elaborate oak ceiling, and on display was a Roman tablet taken from the Antonine Wall.

At the north end of the gallery was a drawing room linked to the north range. The gallery could also be accessed from the Silver House to the south, which incorporated a broad stairway with a treasury above.

The basement of the north range incorporates kitchens and stores, with a dining room and great chamber above. At ground floor level is the Water Gate, between the north and west ranges, which gives access to the postern on the northern cliffs.

The east and north ranges are linked via a rectangular stair. The east range has a larder, brewhouse and bakery at ground level, with a suite of apartments for the Countess above. A north-east wing contains the Earl's apartments, and includes the "King's Bedroom" in which Charles II stayed. In this room is a carved stone inscribed with the arms of the 7th Earl and his wife, and the date 1654. Below these rooms is the Whigs' Vault, a cellar measuring 16 by 4.5 metres (52 by 15 ft). This cellar, in which the Covenanters were held in 1685, has a large eastern window, as well as a lower vault accessed via a trap-door in the floor.

Of the chambers in the palace, only the dining room and the Silver House remain roofed, having been restored in the 1920s. The central area contains a circular cistern or fish pond, 16 metres (52 ft) across and 7.6 metres (25 ft) deep, and a bowling green is located to the west.

At the south-east corner of the quadrangle is the chapel, consecrated in 1276 and largely rebuilt in the 16th century. Medieval walling and two 13th-century windows remain, and there is a graveyard to the south.

Chrysler Building interior lobby by Emilio Guerra

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Midtown Manhattan

The ground floor interior of the Chrysler Building which the Commission designates an Interior Landmark, has been called one of the great Art Deco spaces in New York City. Built in 1928-30 according to the designs of architect William Van Alen, it provides an elegant and dramatic entrance to one of New York's great skyscrapers which had been dedicated by Walter P. Chrysler to "world commerce and industry." A variety of design features create this effect and enhance its progressive image.

HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION

The Chrysler Building had its beginnings in an office building project for William H. Reynolds, a real-estate developer and promoter and former New York State senator. Reynolds had acquired a long-term lease in 1921 on a parcel of property at Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street owned by the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. In 1927 architect William Van Alen was hired to design an . office tower to be called the Reynolds Building for the site. Publicized as embodying new principles in skyscraper design, the projected building was to be 67 stories high rising 808 feet, and it was "to be surmounted by a glass dome, which when lighted from within, will give the effect of a great jewelled sphere."

In October, 1928, however, the office building project and the lease on the site were taken over by Walter P. Chrysler, head of the Chrysler Corporation, who was seeking to expand his interests into the real estate field.

Walter Percy Chrysler (1875-1940), one of America's foremost automobile manufacturers, was a self-made man who worked his way up through the mechanical and manufacturing aspects of the railroad business before joining the Buick Motor Company as works manager in 1912. Because of his success in introducing new processes and efficiencies into the automobile plant, he rose quickly through the administrative ranks of General Motors (which had absorbed Buick) before personality conflicts with William C. Durant, head of General Motors, forced Chrysler to leave.

In 1921 he reorganized Willys-Overland Company, and then took over as chairman of the reorganization and management committee of the Maxwell Motor Company, eventually assuming the presidency. This enabled Chrysler to introduce in 1924 the car bearing his name which presented such innovations as four-wheel hydraulic breaks and a high compression motor.

Over 50 million dollars worth of cars were sold the first year, and in 1925, the Maxwell Motor Company became the Chrysler Corporation. Dodge Brothers was acquired in 1928 giving the Chrysler Corporation additional manufacturing facilities, a famous line of cars, and putting it in a position to challenge the leadership of Ford and General Motors.

By 1935, when Chrysler retired from the presidency of the Chrysler Corporation to become chairman of the board, the company was second in the automobile industry in volume of production.

It was while Chrysler was aggressively expanding his corporation in 1928 that he took over the office building project from Reynolds. In his autobiography, Chrysler said that he had the building constructed so that his sons would have something to be responsible for. 6 He could not have been unav^ure, however, that the building would become a personal symbol and further the image of the Chrysler Corporation— even though no corporate funds were used in its financing or construction, lb that end Chrysler worked with architect William Van Alen to make the building, including the ground floor interior, a powerful and striking design.

Work began on the Chrysler Building on October 15, 1928, when Chrysler acquired the lease with clearance of the site. Construction proceeded rapidly; foundations to a depth of 69 feet were completed early in 1929, and the steel framework was completed by the end of September of that year. The design of the building, however, was altered from that for Reynolds. Chrysler, in his autobiography, credits himself for suggesting that it be taller than the 1000-foot Eiffel Tower.

The design of the crowning dome was also changed, and the addition of a spire, which the architect called a "vertex," made the Chrysler at 1046 feet the tallest building in the world at the time. Kenneth Murchison fancifully depicts Chrysler urging Van Alen to win the race to construct the world's tallest building.

Van Alen himself had personal reasons for achieving this goal, as a former partner, H. Craig Severance, was constructing the Bank of Manhattan, 40 Wall Street, at the same time with the aim of making it the world's tallest skyscraper. Thinking that the Chrysler Building would be only 925 feet high, Severance added a 50-foot flagpole to his building making it 927 feet.

Meanwhile, Van Alen designed the 185-foot spire which would make the Chrysler Building the tallest. The spire was fabricated, then delivered to the building in five sections, and assembled secretly at the 65th floor. In November, 1929, it was finally raised into position by a 20-ton derrick through a fire tower in the center of the building, then riveted into place, the whole operation taking about 90 minutes. This engineering feat captured the popular imagination as well as that of professionals, and it helped to further the progressive image of the Chrysler Building. However, the Chrysler lost its height distinction two years later with the construction of the Empire State Building.

The first tenants moved into the Chrysler Building in April, 1930, even though construction was not completed. Formal opening ceremonies were held on May 27, 1930, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the 42nd Street Property Owners and Merchants Association. A bronze tablet was placed in the lobby of the building "in recognition of Mr. Chrysler's contribution to civic advancement." H It may still be seen in the 42nd Street entrance lobby. The building was considered finished in August, 1930, but curiously, the completion date in the records of the Manhattan Buildings Department is February 19, 1932.

The Chrysler Building and Art Deco

Walter P. Chrysler wanted a progressive image and a personal symbol. Van Alen strove to create such an image using the tenets of modernism as he interpreted them. In so doing he designed a building which has come to be regarded as one of the outstanding examples of Art Deco architecture. The ground floor interior is one of the great Art Deco spaces in the country.

The term Art Deco, which is also referred to by several different names such as the Style Moderne and Modernistic, is adopted from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Deooratifs et Industriels Modemes— an important European influence on the American Art Deco style— held in Paris in 1925.

In the period fallowing the first World War, architects in Europe and the United States had begun to simplify traditional design forms and to use new industrial materials in innovative ways in order to characterize the modem age. The Art Deco style seemed to lend itself particularly well to skyscraper design because the skyscraper, more than any other building type, epitomized progress, innovation, and a new modem age. Although the Art Deco style was short-lived, it coincided with a great building boon at the end of the 1920s in New York. The many skyscrapers which were erected in the Art Deco style gave New York and its skyline a characteristic and romantic image, popularized in theater and films, which persisted until the next great building boom of the early 1960s. The Art Deco ground floor interiors of these skyscrapers were equally effective, giving an air of drama to the act of entering a building.

In the Chrysler Building and its ground floor interior, Van Alen used a variety of materials, techniques, and design forms which are characteristic of Art Deco.

Three entrances provide access to the ground floor interior of the building—one each from 42nd and 43rd Streets and Lexington Avenue. The three entrance lobbies lead into the triangular main concourse with two massive octagonal piers. The shape of the concourse and the placement of the piers help to channel traffic efficiently to the four elevator halls. In his autobiography, Walter P. Chrysler claimed that he asked the architect to redesign the lobby so that "when people come into a big building they...sense a change, get a mental lift that will put them in a frame of mind to transact their business.'^* The triangular concourse was the result.

Rich materials, a characteristic feature of the Art Deco style, enhance the spatial effects and enrich the experience of entry. The walls of the entrance lobbies and main concourse as well as the octagonal piers are faced with a type of red Moroccan marble known as Rouge Flarrme.

The marble is distinguished by variegated markings in tones of buff. Complementing the marble on the walls is the yellow Sienna travertine floor set in diagonal patterns—another subtle directional device to guide the user of the building. Shop windows opening onto the entrance lobbies and main concourse as well as directory boards are elegantly framed in "Nirosta" steel, a kind of rust-resistant, chromium nickel steel, manufactured for the first time in the United States specifically for the Chrysler Building according to a German formula from Krupp.

Handsome crenellations of "Nirosta" steel—in characteristic Art Deco forms—surmount these enframements. The entrance doors, as well as the service doors, are also of "Nirosta" steel. Set between the service doors opposite the Lexington Avenue entrance is an information booth of red marble with "Nirosta" steel back rising from it.

One of the most striking and dramatic features of this interior is the lighting system. Vertically-placed panels of polished Mexican onyx are placed in a stepped pattern above the elevator halls and the three street entrances. Vertical reflector troughs of "Nirosta" steel set with lamps are placed in front of the onyx panels. As the light is reflected off these panels it is given an amber glow.

Set in front of the lights marking the entrances are vertically-placed letters forming the names of the streets outside. The octagonal piers in the main concourse also provide a light source. V-shaped recesses lined with onyx contain the same type of vertical reflector troughs and lamps as those over the entrances and elevator halls.

On the ceiling scanning the main concourse and the Lexington Avenue entrance lobby is a large mural by artist Edward Trumbull. The use of such murals was a favorite device of Art Deco designers. In addition to heightening the dramatic effect and enriching the experience of interior spaces, they also were a means of achieving the Art Deco ideal of the unity of design.

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Edward Trumbull (1884-1968) was one of the foremost American moralists of his generation. As a student at the Art Student's League in New York he studied with Robert Raid; in London from 1906 to 1912, he was a student of Frank Brangwyn. Returning to the United States, he was commissioned to do nine panels for the Heinz Administration Building in Pittsburgh.

Among the important ccnmissions of his career, in addition to the Chrysler Building, were murals for: the Pennsylvania State Building at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, the Graybar Building, the Oyster Bar and Restaurant at Grand Central Station, the waiting rooms in Union Station in Washington, D.C., the dining rocms in the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Building, the cafeteria of the Kress Store at 444 Fifth Avenue, and a branch office of the Union Dime Savings Bank at Madison Avenue and 39th Street.

For Inland Steel, he painted "The Story of Steel" which was presented to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. In 1932 Trumbull was appointed Color Director for the art program of Rockefeller Center to supervise more than 40 murals and 50 sculptural pieces.

The mural in the Chrysler Building depicts "the vision, human energy and engineering ability which made possible the structure." The composition is divided into several parts, each with its own theme. A triangular panel placed over the information booth displays a large muscular Atlas figure. Radiating out from this are three bands which follow the triangular form of the main concourse. The first, showing a series of abstract patterns and lines, was supposed to symbolize primitive, natural forces.

The second, depicting construction workers and techniques, has a specific analogy to the construction of the Chrysler Building. The third shews the development of modem transportation with an emphasis on airplanes. Extending outward over the Lexington Avenue entrance lobby is a large panel with a rendering of the b building as seen from the exterior. The warm tones of the mural harmonize well with the rich colors of the marble and onyx below.

The four elevator halls are lined with the same red marble as the entrance halls and main concourse. The doors of the twenty-eight passenger elevators are a strikingly handsome Art Deco design, displaying an abstract lotus pattern executed in metal and inlaid wood veneers. The elevator cabs are of four design types.

All are abstract patterns, again executed in a variety of inlaid wood veneers. The woods include Japanese ash, English gray hardwood, Oriental walnut, dye ebonized wood, stainwood, Cuban plum pudding, myrtle burl, and curly maple. Ceiling fans in the elevator cabs are of metal, also executed in striking abstract designs. The use of such rich materials to create a luxurious and dramatic effect is characteristic of Art Deco.

The curved staircases at the north and south ends of the main concourse lead to the mezzanine at the second floor and to the basement. The use of highly polished black marble on the curved walls heightens the dramatic effect of these staircases. The railings, which follow the curve of the stairs, are of "Nirosta" steel, and the inner railings have zigzag motifs characteristic of Art Deco design set between the balusters.

At ground floor level, the railings terminate in massive red marble newel posts. The steps are of gray and black terrazzo. Handsome molded glass light fixtures hang from the ceilings above the staircases. These ceilings are finished with aluminum, leaf.

All features of the ground floor interior combine together to create one of the great Art Deco spaces in the city and country. The elements of the design and the rich materials are not only characteristic of the Art Deco style but are also same of the finest examples of their type. All appropriately enhance the progressive image of One of New York's finest office buildings.

The Chrysler Building and the Image of Progress

When completed the Chrysler Building was praised as "an expression of the:intense activity and vibrant life of our day" and as "teeming] with the spirit of modernism,...the epitome of modem business life,.. .standjing] for progress in architecture and in modem building methods." Walter P. Chrysler had sought to create the most desirable office building of the day:

The Chrysler Building is dedicated to world commerce and industry. It was created with a desire to meet the demand of business executives of today who, with their intense activities, must have the most favorable office surroundings and conditions.

The need for abundant light and air resulted in a building of fine proportions and great height. The importance of accessibility and transit facilities dictated the location. The desire for the utmost in conveniences determined the inclusion of unusual facilities of every necessity contributing to the contentment and satisfaction of the business man in his office home.

As an environment in which work may be accomplished efficiently and in comfort, it is believed the finished structure establishes a new ideal—one which will stand as a measure of comparison for office buildings of the future.

The Chrysler Building is therefore dedicated as a sound contribution to business progress.

The building had a number of innovative and desirable features. The soundproofed office partitions were of steel made in interchangeable sections so that the arrangement of any office suite could be changed quickly and conveniently. Under-floor duct systems carried wiring for telephone and electric outlets.

The elevators were not only beautiful in design but also,, specifically at Chrysler's instruction, capable of speeds of 1000 feet per minute although city codes in effect in 1930 only allowed 700 feet per minute. The building also had three of the longest continuous elevator shafts in the world. To enhance public access to the building, an underground arcade led to the IRT subway system. The connection was strongly opposed by the IRT, but Chrysler prevailed and the passageway was built at his expense.

In the dome was the private Cloud Club, which still exists, and, in the very topmost floor, a public observatory. On display was Walter P. Chrysler's box of handmade tools, the emblem of his enterprise and personal success. The observatory has been closed for many years.

Conclusion

Critics such as Lewis Mumford who favored the International Style denigrated the Chrysler Building for its "inane romanticism, .. .meaningless voluptuousness,.. ./and] void symbolism^ " but it was these qualities which captured the popular imagination and helped make it one of the most famous buildings in New York. We can appreciate the comments of the editor of Architectural Forum who wrote:

It stands by itself, something apart and alone. It is simply the realization, the fulfillment in metal and masonry, of a one-man dream, a dream of such ambition and such magnitude as to defy the comprehension and the criticism of ordinary men or by ordinary standards.

The Chrysler Building with its ground floor interior remains one of New York's finest office buildings—the elements of its design capturing the eye and imagination of the viewer.

The total design of the ground floor interior helped toe carry out Walter P. Chrysler's aim of dedicating the building to world commerce and industry. With its dramatic effects, elegant materials, and striking ornamental details, the ground floor interior of the Chrysler Building is an outstanding example of the Art Deco style— among the finest in the city and the country.

- From the 1978 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report