The Chanin Building, 122 East 42nd Street NY

 United States > New York > Manhattan Community Board 6

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Chanin Building was constructed between 1927 and 1929 for noted developer Irwin Chanin by Sloan and Robertson architectural firm. One of the tallest buildings of its time, it contains 56 floors and stretches to a towering 680 feet. Typical of New York skyscrapers of its era and in conformance with old NY zoning laws, the building is set back from its limestone base in a series of narrow setbacks that extend for the first thirty or so floors. The soaring tower is made of buff-brick and terra cotta with limestone buttresses at the base and crown. The façade introduced the use of colored glass, stone, and metal on the exterior of New York's tall buildings. The Chanin Building is topped by a distinct art-deco style crown, consisting of a set of buttresses. At night, the top was reverse-lit by floodlights, creating a magnificent illuminated pattern, visible forty-five miles - more than 70km - away.