28 Facts About Flatiron Building

The name "Flatiron Building" derives from its resemblance to a cast-iron clothes iron.

Flatiron Building was developed as the headquarters of construction firm Fuller Company, which acquired the site from the Newhouse family in March 1901.

Flatiron Building's facade is divided vertically into three sections, similarly to the components of a classical column.

Flatiron Building sits on a triangular block formed by Fifth Avenue to the west, Broadway to the east, and East 22nd Street to the south.

The Flatiron Building is at the northern end of the Ladies' Mile Historic District, which extends between 15th Street to the south and 24th Street to the north.

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The Flatiron Building was not the first building of its triangular ground-plan, although it was the largest at the time of its completion.

The city's Board of Flatiron Building Commissioners had granted an exemption to Black's syndicate, prompting allegations of favoritism.

When completed, the Flatiron Building was much taller than others in the neighborhood; when New York City Fire Department officials tested the building's standpipes in November 1902, they found that "the 'flat-iron' building would be of great aid in fighting the fire" in any surrounding buildings.

The base of the Flatiron Building became a cruising spot for gay men, including some male prostitutes.

Nonetheless, in 1911 the Flatiron Building Restaurant was bought by Louis Bustanoby, of the well-known Cafe des Beaux-Arts, and converted into a trendy 400-seat French restaurant, Taverne Louis.

The Flatiron Building's operating costs were increasing, and its income decreased greatly with the onset of the Great Depression in 1929.

The Flatiron Building had long since been surpassed in height by other structures, and its roof was "of interest chiefly for its historic associations".

Flatiron Building was popular among service companies in the early 2000s, causing rental rates at surrounding buildings to increase.

Flatiron Building was designed by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham as a vertical Renaissance palazzo with Beaux-Arts styling.

The construction of the Flatiron was made feasible by a change to New York City's building codes in 1892, which eliminated the requirement that masonry be used for fireproofing considerations.

The Flatiron Building's construction was relatively easy because it used a steel frame; its 22-story height would have been difficult using other construction methods of that time.

Flatiron Building was considered to be "quirky" overall, with drafty wood-framed and cooper-clad windows, no central air conditioning, a heating system which utilized cast-iron radiators, an antiquated sprinkler system, and a single staircase should evacuation of the building be necessary.

Flatiron Building contained its own power plant, which generated high-pressure steam and electricity.

Flatiron Building became an icon of New York City upon completion, and public response to it was enthusiastic.

The Flatiron Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Flatiron Building was to attract the attention of numerous artists and photographers.

The edifice was depicted in Samuel Halpert's 1919 painting Flatiron Building, later placed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.

Newspapers of the time claimed that "every window in the building" would break in high winds, although the American Architect and Flatiron Building News observed that only a few windows broke during one such instance of high winds.

Unlike other structures, such as the Seagram Building or New York City's brownstone houses, the Flatiron Building's shape was rarely copied by other structures in the city until the early 21st century.

Consequently, in the early 20th century, the Flatiron Building was one of only two major buildings that were developed at the intersection of Broadway and another north–south avenue; the other was the Times Tower.

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Today, the Flatiron Building is frequently used in television commercials and documentaries as an easily recognizable symbol of the city, shown, for instance, in the opening credits of the Late Show with David Letterman or in scenes of New York City that are shown during scene transitions in the TV sitcoms Friends, Spin City, and Veronica's Closet.

The Flatiron Building is the home of the fictional company Damage Control in the Marvel Universe comics and for the CIA-sponsored superhero management team "The Boys" in the Dynamite Comics title of the same name .

Flatiron Building was the subject of a book, The Flatiron: The New York Landmark and the Incomparable City that Arose With It, published in 2010 and written by Alice Sparberg Alexiou.