 Flatiron Building, New York City
The Flatiron Building - common name for the Fuller Building - is a skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City. At the time of its completion in 1902, it was one of the tallest buildings in New York City. The building is located at 175 Fifth Avenue, sitting on a triangular block at 23rd Street, Fifth Avenue, and Broadway, facing Madison Square. The unusual plot shape came about because of Broadway cutting diagonally across the avenues in the grid of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811.
The Flatiron Building was so named because of the awkwardly shaped plot it was built on, which was like a clothes flat iron. The building was designed by Daniel Burnham, an architect from Chicago, in the Beaux-Arts style. Being one of the first buildings to use a steel skeleton, the Flatiron Building could reach a height of 285 feet (87 m), something very difficult to achieve using other construction methods of that time.
The Flatiron Building was officially named Fuller Building, after George A. Fuller, founder of the company that financed its construction two years after his death. It is 22 storeys tall, and at the rounded tip, it is only 6.5 feet (2 metres) wide. It is one of the oldest skyscrapers in Manhattan, though the oldest and tallest is the Park Row Building, built in 1899.
The Flatiron Building was made a National Historic Landmark in 1989. Today it is a popular spot for tourist photographs. It continues to function as an office building, and is currently the home to several book publishers. The area surroundings it has been called the Flatiron District in its honour.
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