William Van Allen

William Van Allen (born on August 10th 1883 with Brooklyn, dead on May 24th 1953) was an American architect, especially known to have carried out the Chrysler Building, which was the most building of the world between 1930 and 1931. Van Allen followed studies to the Pratt Institute of Brooklyn, before working in the cabinet of Clarence True. He worked then for many New Yorkean companies, before gaining in 1908 the Lloyd Warren Fellowship , which enabled him to begin studies in Europe. Van Allen studied thus with Paris, in the workshop of Victor Laloux, like with the school of Art schools.

In 1911, Van Allen turned over to New York, where it joined H. Craig Severance. Their partnership became famous thanks to their constructions of shopping malls on several floors, which broke with the traditional rules on the matter. In 1925, the two partners separated, but Van Allen continued his activities on his account with New York. Van Allen was then contacted by Walter Chrysler to build a skyscraper with the glory of the tycoon who wished to have the most building in the world. In order to carry out this objective, vis-a-vis a pitiless competition, Van Allen a secret weapon for disatancer all possible the concurerrents imagined: an arrow in Stainless steel 58.4 height meters, which would be built in the building, then hoisted at the top of the skyscraper once the building finished.

Van Allen would have thus, at the time of a ball of the Art schools in 1931, worn a large hat of the shape of the arrow, symbol of his victory. However, Walter Chrysler would have refused to pay the architect, judging that the contract had not been filled, since the Empire State Building became the most building in the world in 1931, less than one year after the inauguration of the Chrysler Building.

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Biography of Van Allen on Greatcities ''' (in) '''

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