When you think about the New York City skyline, odds are what pops to mind are the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center, and, of course, the Chrysler Building.

As stunning as it is; as much as it plays an integral role in our city's image in the mind of the collective consciousness, the Chrysler Building does not get its hour in the sun. It does not get discussed nearly as much as it deserves.

This factoid is even more grievous when held up against the fact that there are a ton of crazy secrets hidden in folklore about the Chrysler Building. 

Even if you're old school NYC, we're willing to bet that unless you're David Stravitz, author of, "The Chrysler Building: Creating a New York Icon Day by Day," these facts will be new to you. 

So read and enjoy these 7 facts you may not have known about the Chrysler Building.

---

1. It exists because Dreamland burned down

When Dreamland was decimated in a fire in 1911, its owner William Reynolds felt he needed a new, high-profile project to which he could dedicate his time. 

As a result, he entered the "Tallest Building in the World" race, and commissioned William Van Alen. When Reynolds defaulted on the lease, Walter P. Chrysler purchased the property and design for $2 million.

Chrysler purchased the building himself so his sons could inherit it, and used it as the headquarters for his car company for more than 20 years.

[via Mental Floss]

---

2. Chrysler refused to pay Van Alen

Van Alen was so keen on beating George L. Ohrstrom in the race for the tallest building that he never signed a contract with Walter P. Chrysler. 

After the building was erected, Van Alen asked Chrysler for 6% of its $14 million cost, but Chrysler refused to pay him. He believed Van Alen was working with building contractors on shady financial arrangements, and refused to be a part of it.

Van Alen sued. He did eventually get his money, but not until after his reputation was tarnished.

Basically, suing Time Magazine's "1928 Man of the Year" made it extremely difficult for Van Alen to win commissions.

---

3. The spire was a sneaky move

Remember how we discussed that whole thing about Van Alen wanting to win the contest for "tallest building in New York?"

Well, a month after the announcement of the Chrysler Building's design with a projected height of 809 feet, Van Alen discovered Ohrstrom planned to build an 840-foot-tall building at 40 Wall Street.

So, Van Alen designed a needlelike spire to top the tower, and constructed it in secret within the building. It won the race for Chrysler at 1,046 feet, and the Chrysler building was New York's tallest building. 

The Empire State building surpassed it less than a year later, but for several months the Chrysler Building was the tallest building in the world.

---

4. It's made of nearly four million bricks

The nearly four million bricks that compose the Chrysler Building were all laid out by hand.

Several of its elements were also designed at Chrysler's automobile empire. Parts of the building are composed of hubcaps, fenders, and radiator caps. The building's famous gargoyles even resemble an old Chrysler hood ornament.

The building is also decked out with 3,862 windows from which to gaze at the city.

[via Untapped Cities]

,

5. There used to be apartments hidden inside

On the top floor of the Chrysler building, Walter P. Chrysler had a private apartment and office, and was said to brag about how he had the highest toilet in Manhattan. 

LIFE photographer Margaret Bourke-White lived in another apartment on the 61st floor. She was photographed atop one of the building's gargoyles in 1934.

Bourke-White's lease was cosigned by Time, Inc. because the Chrysler building wouldn't rent to a woman, despite Bourke-White's wealth and fame at the time. Bourke-White's rent cost $387.92 a month in rent. 

Though that number is depressing for many of us who wish it was our rent, it was a good amount of money at the time.

---

6. There used to be an auto showroom on the first two floors

An automobile showroom was located in the lobby of the building, which once occupied the first two floors of the lobby. It had yellow marble floors and chrome steel ornamentation and murals. Plus, of course, cars.

---

7. There was a water bottling plant in the basement

The people who lived in the Chrysler building, they didn't ever have to leave their building to acquire bottled water. 

The building had a water bottling plant in the basement, which was filtered through an intricate system and then bottled to be distributed to tenants in the building. The large room was large and tiled, and, according to author David Stravitz, "Quite exotic for a space most people never saw."

Stravitz also said that in the lower level, tenants could cross under Lexington Avenue directly to the Lexington Avenue subway system.

So they were able to avoid snow, traffic, and rain and head right from inside their buildings to inside their subway. That sounds pretty incredible, if you ask us.

Check out Facts You Probably Didn't Know About the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. 

[via Interactive WTTW]

[via NY Times]