Flatiron Building, Office building at Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street, Manhattan, US
The Flatiron Building is a 22-story, 93.6-meter steel-framed triangular tower at 175 Fifth Avenue, where Broadway and Fifth Avenue meet at a narrow rounded prow. Its three-part facade has a limestone base and glazed terracotta upper stories, with a projecting bracketed cornice and attic level above.
Daniel Burnham completed the steel-framed structure in 1902, creating one of the earliest skyscrapers in Manhattan at 91 meters tall. At the time of its opening, it stood as the tallest building north of City Hall and marked the start of a new era in urban construction.
The name comes from the building's resemblance to a cast-iron clothes iron, and the surrounding neighborhood took the name Flatiron District from it. The Fuller Company occupied the 19th floor as its headquarters until 1910, and the US Navy ran a recruitment office there during World War I. Macmillan Publishers used the whole building as its North American headquarters until 2019.
The building is bounded by Fifth Avenue, Broadway and East 22nd Street, with its narrow peak at the Fifth Avenue and Broadway crossing near East 23rd Street. Subway entrances for the 23rd Street station, served by the R and W trains, stand next to it. The ground floor holds restaurants and shops, while the upper floors are not open to visitors.
The narrow corner at Fifth Avenue and Broadway is only about 2 meters wide, and the aerodynamic shape channels strong drafts along the adjacent streets. The steel frame by Purdy and Henderson was engineered to withstand four times the maximum wind force of the area.
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