Chrysler East

 office building, Modern (architecture)

432-foot, 32-story Modernist office building completed in 1952. Designed by Reinhard, Hofmeister & Walquist, it was originally clad in white brick, but was re-clad in 1999 to a design by Philip Johnson, consisting of a curtain wall of grey-green glass with thin aluminum mullions. Formerly known as the Calyon Building and the Kent Building, it is now part of a full-block complex with a single owner, anchored on the west by the Chrysler Building.

The 32-story Chrysler East building has its main entrances on 3rd Avenue, recessed in the middle three of the facade's nine bays. The bays are separated by rounded stainless-steel columns. The south facade is five bays wide, and the north side spans ten bays. There is another recessed entrance on 43rd Street, in the 5th bay from the east. Except for the freight entrance and stainless-steel service doors and vents at the western two bays, the other bays have storefronts with black granite water tables. There is a setback above the 10th floor on all three main facades, except at the west end of the north facade, where the building connects to the Chrysler Building; here there is a setback above the 6th floor, with another above the 10th floor, and a 13th-floor lower roof line, the height of which matches the first setback on the Chrysler Building. The rest of the tower is a rectangle in plan, with a projecting section at the west side. The top floors are mechanical, with screens of metal vents topping the curtain wall.

The ground floor is occupied by Blue Park Kitchen, Chop't Salad Shop, Joe & The Juice, Le Botanist restaurant, and a Wells Fargo bank branch.

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