THE FIRST MODERNISTS

This 1931 photograph of a group of party-goers at the Beaux-Arts Ball in New York is famous. That’s William Van Alen in the center (the Chrysler Building), flanked by Ely Jacques Kahn (the Squibb Building) on the left, and Ralph Walker (the Irving Trust Building) on the right. Three great skyscraper architects. William F. Lamb (the Empire State Building) was also there but didn’t make it into the picture. These men are all part of a generation of American architects that has been written out of the history books. That’s a shame. We all know their buildings—the Empire State, the Chrysler, 30 Rock, and the Federal Reserve in DC. We should remember Lamb, Van Alen, Raymond Hood, and Paul Cret. Their works adorn our cities—and are likely to do so for a long time since they are mostly listed on the National Register of Historic Places.