Flatiron Building skyscraper

The Flatiron Building is one of New York City’s iconic iron-shaped skyscrapers. The high-rise was built in the early part of the last century and was designed by renowned Chicago architect Daniel Burnham in the boz-art style. At first, the skyscraper housed the office of the Fuller construction company, so it was called the Fuller Building. However, New Yorkers nicknamed the building “The Iron” for its unusual shape. As time passed, the funny nickname became the official name not only of the Flatiron Building, but also of the neighborhood where it is located.

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Video: the Flatiron Building

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The unusual high-rise attracted many photographers and filmmakers. In 1904, two years after construction, the famous American photographer Edward Steichen took a photograph of the iron house under night lighting. This shot is popular to this day and is considered one of the symbols of turn-of-the-century New York City.

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The Howler House has been drawn by artists and made into movies. Some famous writers were skeptical of the Flatiron Building. It received unflattering reviews from Herbert Wells, Pierre Loti, and Maxim Gorky. In 1998, the sci-fi movie Godzilla was released, and in it, the American army, while chasing a huge fossil lizard, accidentally destroyed the Flatiron Building.

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These days, the skyscraper has the status of a national landmark. The high-rise is used as an office building, with its first floor given over to stores and a large luxury restaurant in the basement. The most expensive offices are located in the narrowest part of the building, because they have a great view of the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street. Since 2009, half of the skyscraper’s space has been owned by the Italian company Sorgente Group, which announced that it was going to redevelop the Flatiron Building into an expensive hotel.

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History of the construction of the Flatiron Building skyscraper

Since the mid-nineteenth century, a small triangular plot of land near East 23rd Street had been occupied by a four-story hotel. In 1880 it was torn down and the Cumberland Apartment Building, with seven stories, was put there. In those days, the tall building far exceeded the surrounding buildings, so advertisements were displayed on its walls. Especially often there were texts from popular New York newspapers. Hot news and election results were hung on the Cumberland, so it could be crowded around it.

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In 1898, the owner of the lot died and the expensive land was put up for sale. The results of the auction were that the manager of the Fuller Construction Company became the new owner of the lot.

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In 1901, the construction company hired a talented architect from Chicago, Daniel Burnham, to design a new skyscraper. Burnham enthusiastically took up the task and departed from the tradition of skyscraper-pyramids that existed in those days. He proposed a building that would not taper upward, but would be the same width at the base and at the top floor.

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As the builders began to build up floor by floor, New Yorkers watching them were convinced that the skyscraper was bound to collapse from the wind, because from the outside it did not look stable. Some even bet on how far the stone debris would fly. Attitudes toward the construction were so dismissive that the project was undeservedly labeled “Burnham’s Folly.”

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However, the experienced architect calculated absolutely everything. Most of the structures for the Flatiron Building were assembled directly at the factory and delivered to the site in finished form. This allowed the builders to erect one floor a week. Burnham laid a solid foundation for the high-rise. It was a powerful frame of steel, which was able to withstand any load.

The steel frame was assembled by February 1902, and by the end of spring it was half clad. In June 1902, the skyscraper was ready and the construction process took only a year. In those days, the Flatiron Building was considered one of the tallest buildings in the city. Its durability was confirmed by time – the Manhattan high-rise endured all the storms and showed great stability.

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Architectural features and décor

The Flatiron Building rises 93 meters and has 22 floors. The skyscraper faces 23rd Street at a sharp angle. If you look at the building from this side, it appears completely flat.

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The sharp angle of the high-rise creates swirls, “pulling” air from the bottom to the top. After construction was completed, New Yorkers quickly felt this aerodynamic effect. At the beginning of the last century, 5th Avenue was home to shops selling fashionable clothing and shoes. It was a section of Manhattan that was called “Women’s Mile.” As fashionable women shopped here, gusts of wind would lift their skirts, and young New Yorkers would come to the skyscraper to watch the spectacle.

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For more than a century of history, the facades of the high-rise have not lost their former beauty. They are richly decorated in the Italian Renaissance style. Limestone rustication, bay windows and terracotta moldings are used to finish the building. The window frames are made of fireproof glass and clad in copper.

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What can be seen nearby

Adjacent to the Flatiron Building skyscraper is the sprawling green space of Madison Square. The public park covers 2.75 hectares. It was opened in 1847 and named in honor of the country’s fourth president, James Madison. Winston Churchill’s mother Jennie, President Theodore Roosevelt and writer Edith Wharton were born in the mansions that surround the park. Many people come here to walk along the footpaths in the shade of the trees and admire the monuments set in the park. 150 meters east of the Flatiron Building is the Burden Gallery art gallery.

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How to get there

The Flatiron Building stands in Manhattan, at the intersection of East 23rd Street, East 22nd Street, and Fifth Avenue. Near it is the 23rd Street subway station, where trains on three New York City subway routes stop: the A at night, the C during the day, and the E at all times. In addition, buses #M1, M2, M3, M55, M23-SBS, X1, X7, X9, X12, X14, X17, X27, X28 and X37 run past the skyscraper.

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