In preparation for my presentation: "Nickel Alloys and Stainless Steels.
A historical perspective" given at the NACE - CORROSION Anniversary
meeting in New Orleans 1993, I asked my wife Christina to check with the
owners of the Chrysler Building on the state of the Krupp stainless
covering the building. It turned out that nobody of the building
management at that time was aware of the historical implications of
their building and immideately started to research the situation. The
outcome was that Walter Chrysler "after exhaustive tests in competition
with other metals" had ordered Krupp V2A steel from Germany in 1932; but
apparently was unsure of the expected life span, so all critical
construction elements were ordered double. The spare items were
dicovered unused in the cellar. It turned out that up to 1993 only two
strips, covering the bottom of revolving doors, subject to salt and
erosion, had so far to be replaced.
Original Message:
Sent: 11/30/2020 4:12:00 PM
From: Scott Henry
Subject: Did Bethlehem Steel make beams for the Chrysler Building?
David Venditta, a retired reporter for the Allentown, Pa. Morning Call, did extensive research (including from ASM sources!) to answer this question. The results of his labors are documented in a fascinating two-part story.
Note: Nonsubscribers seem to be limited to two free articles from the Morning Call site. So, if you click on any links while reading Part 1, you may not be able to read Part 2 without a subscription.
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Scott Henry
Senior Content Engineer
ASM International
Materials Park OH
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