40 Wall Street the height of his project and then publicly claimed the title of the world's tallest building. (This distinction excluded structures that were not fully habitable, such as the Eiffel Tower.) Construction of 40 Wall Street began in May 1929 at a frantic pace, and it was completed twelve months later. In response, the Chrysler's architect William Van Alen obtained permission for a long spire and had it secretly constructed inside the frame of the building. The spire was delivered to the site in four different sections. On October 23, 1929, the day before the catastrophic Wall Street Crash of 1929
40 Wall Street ground for the pilot at the building's 58th story level. Parts of the aircraft and pieces of brick and mortar from the building fell into the street below, but there were no reported injuries to any of the estimated 2,000 workers in the building, nor anyone on the street. This crash at 40 Wall Street was the second of its kind in New York City's history, the first being when an Army B-25 bomber struck the 78th floor of the Empire State Building in July 1945. The cause of that crash was also fog and poor visibility. The 1946 accident