Chrysler Building to get its crown restored after being sold

The Chrysler Building, one of the most distinctive high-rises in Manhattan's skyline, will undergo a major renovation as part of a multi-million-dollar sale deal.

The skyscraper, opened in New York nearly 100 years ago, will see its Art Deco crown polished and restored during a refurbishment that will also involve the restoration of the building's 77-storey façade.

Developer Tishman Speyer has taken over the lease from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a private college.

Tishman Speyer and its partners will invest $235m (£178m) in the project, as part of which it will upgrade the 61st floor, which is home to huge eagle gargoyles and will also feature an "upscale" lounge.

The developer is planning to use most of the building, which is close to Grand Central railway station, for office space. It is following what it calls a "prebuild approach" that will allow firms to move into their new premises quickly.

Tishman Speyer explained that the area "has one of the lowest office availability rates in Manhattan", adding: "Construction of new office supply in the neighbourhood has been virtually nonexistent for decades."

The renovation will include internal work, such as upgrades to the building's mechanical, elevator, electrical and air handling systems.

At 1,046ft (319m), the Chrysler Building was once the world's tallest building - before being usurped less than a year later by the nearby Empire State Building.

Financed by Walter Chrysler, the motor magnate, the skyscraper's construction began in 1928 and was completed two years later.

Architect William Van Alen modelled the eagle gargoyles on hood ornaments found on the 1929 Chrysler car.