Mark Cohen, NYC Finance professional, walks you through his favorite Art Deco Skyscrapers. For more, check out http://markcohen.info

1. T O P 5 A R T D E C O
S K Y S C R A P E R S I N N Y C
M A R K C O H E N

2. W E L C O M E T O N E W Y O R K
C I T Y !
osition back to America and applied them to modern mater

3. B A R C L A Y - V E S E Y
B U I L D I N G ( V E R I Z O N
B U I L D I N G )
• One of the earliest of the art deco
skyscrapers, the Barclay-Vesey Building was
completed in 1923 and designed by Ralph
Walker of McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin. It
has dramatic setbacks and buttresses
crowned with complex sculptural reliefs
carved in limestone. The designs contain
vegetal patterns, mythological figures and a
recurring motif of bells, the symbol of the New
York Telephone Company, which
commissioned the skyscraper. Because of its
proximity to the World Trade Center, the
Barclay-Vesey Building was damaged during
the September 11th attacks, but restoration
work is underway.

4. G E N E R A L E L E C T R I C B U I L D I N G
• Arguably one of the most beautiful skyscrapers in
New York, the General Electric Building—
originally the RCA Victor Building—was designed
by Cross & Cross and completed in 1931. The
exterior is faced in a beautiful rose-toned granite
meant to complement the adjacent St.
Bartholomew's Church, and is carved with a zig-
zag pattern that invokes electricity. But by far the
best architectural feature of the building is the top,
which is decorated in Gothic flamboyant-style
spires, stone filigree and lightening bolts meant to
symbolize radio waves and electricity. At night,
the crown of the building is lit up so that it looks
like a torch.

5. G E B U I L D I N G
• The GE Building is situated
within Rockefeller Plaza, itself
a monument to the art deco
style. While Rockefeller Center
was designed by Associated
Architects, the 1933 GE
Building was designed by
Raymond Hood, who was
inspired by Gothic architecture
to create a long, slim building
with an austere exterior. In the
lobby, there is a mural by Jose
Maria Sert called "American
Progress," which replaced a
more politically controversial
mural by artists Diego Rivera
and Ben Shahn.

6. C H R Y S L E R
B U I L D I N G
• Designed by William Van Alen, the
Chrysler Building was the tallest
building in the world for a brief
period between its completion in
1930 and the completion of the
Empire State Building in 1931. The
lobby is decorated with
multicolored marbles, onyx and
amber arranged in Egyptian
motifs, with a mural on the ceiling
painted by Edward Trumbull titled
"Transport and Human Endeavor."
The exterior design also
references automobiles, with metal
hubcaps, aluminum gargoyles,
radiator caps, hood ornaments
and car fenders. The top of the
building is covered in a stainless
steel design meant to imitate a
crown.

7. E M P I R E S T A T E B U I L D I N G
O N E O F T H E M O S T F A M O U S
B U I L D I N G S I N T H E W O R L D , T H E
E M P I R E S T A T E B U I L D I N G W A S
D E S I G N E D B Y T H E F I R M O F
S H R E V E , L A M B & H A R M O N . T H E
B U I L D I N G W A S C O M P L E T E D I N
1 9 3 1 A N D B I L L E D A S T H E E I G H T H
W O N D E R O F T H E W O R L D O N I T S
O P E N I N G . T H E F A C A D E I S M O R E
C L A S S I C T H A N M O S T A R T D E C O
S T R U C T U R E S , W I T H S M O O T H
S T A I N L E S S S T E E L A N D V E R T I C A L
L I N E S .