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| 1694 New York - Flatiron Building (1) |
The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, located at 175 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, is considered to be one of the first skyscraper ever built. Upon completion in 1902, it was one of the tallest buildings in New York City at 21 floors high. The building sits on a triangular island-block formed by Fifth Avenue, Broadway and East 22nd Street, with 23rd Street grazing the triangle's northern (uptown) peak. As with numerous other wedge-shaped buildings, the name "Flatiron" derives from its resemblance to a cast-iron clothes iron. The neighborhood around it is called the Flatiron District after its signature building, which has become an icon of New York City.
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| 1695 New York - Flatiron Building (2) |
The site where is the skyscraper was bought in 1901 by Cumberland Realty Company, an investment partnership created by Harry S. Black, CEO of the Fuller Company. The Fuller Company was the first true general contractor that dealt with all aspects of building construction except design, and they specialized in skyscrapers. At the time, efforts were being made to create a new business district in New York, north of the current hub of Wall Street. So Black engaged the Chicago architect Daniel Burnham to design a new headquarters building on the site. It was to be named the Fuller Building after George A. Fuller, founder of the Fuller Company and "father of the skyscraper", but locals persisted on calling it The Flatiron.
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