"I found myself agape, admiring a sky-scraper... ploughing up through the traffic of Broadway and Fifth Avenue in the afternoon light." - H. G. Wells, 1906
History
Sitting on the intersection where Fifth Avenue and Broadway cross, the Flatiron Building remains one of New York City’s most popular and memorable structures.
As the city of New York expanded northward during the second half of the 19th century, small plots of land remained undeveloped. One of the most well known of these was the narrow triangular site at 23rd Street. The “Flat Iron,” as it quickly became known, changed owners many times, but wouldn’t be developed until the Chicago-based Fuller Company bought the site in 1901.
The Fuller Company engaged Chicago architect Daniel H. Burnham to design the building and, utilizing the Fuller Company’s expertise with steel frame construction, he proposed a 20-story structure that would reach a height of 285 ft. (86.9 m). At the “point” of the triangle the building would only be 6.5 ft. (2 m) wide and would form a 25-degree acute angle.
This radical design, combined with its great height and unusual shape, created a great deal of debate as the building neared completion in 1902. Though never the tallest building in New York, or even the first building in the country with a triangular ground plan, the Flatiron Building has become an iconic symbol of the city of New York.
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