New York City with children: Flat Iron Building
by KFFVMom
(kid-friendly-family-vacations.com)
Flat Iron Building
The Gramercy Flatiron district of Manhattan in New York is home to many trendy shops, bars and restaurants, affluent residences and elegant buildings?one particular edifice that has held the imagination of America and the rest of the world since the early 20th century is the iconic Flat Iron Building. Formerly known as the Fuller Building, it has been featured numerous times on television, in Hollywood films, on popular music videos and in classic literature.
The triangular prism-shaped building is a unique New York City landmark and popular tourist attraction located north of 14th Street and its imposing presence never fail to command attention. Completed in 1902 and billed as the first skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, it was originally named after George A. Fuller, founder of the Fuller Company that acquired and developed commercial space that was once owned by Amos Eno into the Fuller Company headquarters. Today, the iconic New York building is home to publishing companies and plans for converting the unique skyscraper into a hotel are underway.
The Flat Iron Building is an architectural, engineering and decorative arts wonder. It?s unique and unprecedented design gave way to eccentric interiors and rooms that include ?point? office spaces offering a captivating view of the Empire State Building by just looking outside the window. The 21-story wonder is a product of Beaux-Arts architecture drafted by Daniel Burnham and residents of the Madison/Gramercy Flatiron areas witnessed in awe as construction were underway at the turn of the century.
Fortified by steel bracing that allowed the building to overcome the force of wind four times than it could ever experience, it stood at the epicenter of strong wind drafts from Central Park and Madison Square on the north, and Broadway and 5th Avenue on each side, coupled with unpredictable wind currents from above and below the building. The building?s impressive resilience not only caught the attention of many pedestrians and onlookers during the time of construction, it has also captured the acclaim of the entire world and the admiration of many tourists from all walks of life and photographers both amateur and professional.
The Flat Iron Building is a legacy of a period in young America when enterprise and commerce were the driving force behind a nation. It?s also a living testimony of New York City?s unwavering triumph despite the many odds that The Big Apple has weathered over so many decades. The venerable skyscraper is not only a trophy building whose importance in American history and culture is superseded by its $190 million value?its significance to every New York City resident cannot be questioned.
In fact, when renovations were being made in 2005 and a 15-story long advertising tarpaulin concealed the building?s façade, residents of New York launched a massive protest that compelled the New York City Department of Buildings to force the building?s current owners to get rid of the vertical banner. The quintessential Midtown Manhattan Flat Iron Skyscraper is recognized both as a New York City Landmark and a National Historic Landmark under the National Register of Historic Places.
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