Thursday, June 15, 2017

Throwback Thursday " Flatrion Building History"


The Flatiron building has to be one of my most favorites. It is so unique in design, and no matter how many times I see it, it never gets old. The above photo and information below is from Simoneli website. I just can't get enough of it's history!!


Upon completion in 1902, this 22-story “groundbreaker” was one of the first skyscrapers in NYC and also the first with a steel-framed construction. It is both the use of this modern construction technique and the intriguing triangelar shape that distinguished the Flatiron as a modern sensation.

To this day it remains one of the most widely photographed skyscrapers in the world. Standing in front of the building, you are presented with the welcrafted limestone and terra-cotta façade, designed in Beaux-Arts style with feautures of the French and Italian Renaissance. The façade is based upon a classical Greek column (base, shaft and capital), which reduces the monotony of the large building mass, creating articulation and visual interest. When you are face to face with this architectural anomaly it’s worth more than a casual glance.

This old American expression, “23 skidoo”, means “get out quickly” and finds its origin on 23rd Street at the intersection of 5th and Broadway, the location of the Flatiron.

“The intersection in front of the Flatiron Building was always a congested spot, and a windy one, too, and in the old days the corner was a famous spot for young lads to watch women’s skirt being whipped around. So famous was the spot, in fact, that policemen would occasionally have to shoo away these perpetual watches, and the expression ’23 Skidoo’ was said to have been born on this windswept corner.”

What do you love about the Flatiron Building? If you have never viewed it in person, be sure to add to your "to-do" list asap!


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