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Stainless steel might have seemed an extravagantly expensive material for architectural decoration at first glance, but it was touted as being durable and worth the expense, which it proved to be. It has a tensile quality, which was ideal for covering large expanses, and it could be easily worked at the factory and welded at the site. Since it is alloyed with chromium, it resists abrasion and corrosion, and, when combined with nickel, it achieves an even shinier finish. Its use in the Empire State Building for the mullions that race up the sides is one of the great secrets of the building’s subtlety and aesthetic satisfaction. Perhaps its most famous use in New York is the crown of the Chrysler Building.
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