My New York Postcards
Flatiron Building
175 Fifth Avenue, N.Y.
The Flatiron Building was designed by Chicago's Daniel Burnham as a vertical Renaissance palazzo with Beaux-Arts styling. Unlike New York's early skyscrapers, which took the form of towers arising from a lower, blockier mass, the Flatiron Building epitomizes the Chicago school conception: like a classical Greek column, its facade of limestone at the bottom changing to glazed terra-cotta as the floors rise) is divided into a base, shaft and capital. Early sketches by Daniel Burnham show a design with an (unexecuted) clockface and a far more elaborate crown than in the actual building.
Burnham, though he maintained overall control of the design process, was not directly connected with the details of the structure as built; credit should be shared with his designer Frederick P. Dinkelberg (c 1859—1935), a Pennsylvania-born architect in Burnham's office, who first worked for Burnham at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. Working drawings for the Flatiron Building, however, remain to be located, though renderings were published at the time of construction in American Architect and The Architectural Record. Read more
I worked in the Flatiron Building for a few years while I was taking my Master of Library and Information Science. I catalogued books in the library of The New York State Association of Retarded Children (It may have by now changed it's name to NYS Assn of Retarded Citizens)
Beth of The Best Hearts Are Crunchy is the lovely host of Postcard Friendship Friday.
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16 comments:
Beautiful building. Thanks for sharing the informatio. Fantastic.
Amazing building and interesting background information. It must have been special to work there. Happy PFF.
What an INTERESTING building! I LOVE the perspective in this postcard! Happy PFF!
I wonder what the offices at the narrow end look like.
How neat..I love the postcard & the background info!
wow! you've managed to find a fresh look at the flat iron building...love that juxtaposition with the clock! happy PFF!
Mary,
It must have been wonderful to work there. I understand that people really like it, despite the oddly-shaped offices.
Wonderful card. Great building. Some memories for you and, at the same time, we learn something else about you! Happy PFF!
What a beautiful building! It must have been wonderful to have worked there. How much more pleasant than a rectangular block.
I love the Flatiron Building! It's a great piece of architecture, and wonderful that it's still in use.
Do you know how it came to be called the Flatiron Building? I don't, I'm just wondering.
Very beautiful view of the building and how cool that you got to work there.
@boliyu - the name comes from the triangular lot on which it was built. check out the wiki on it for a bunch more interesting info.
Hi Mary...back again real quick. I'm still in Hawai'i. Those were taken in January. I'll be there next week this time :)
I have seen pictures of this building before - and love it!
Thank you for the interesting information on its construction - how fun that you got to work there for a time! What a unique viewpoint!
That is an interesting building. For some reason, I always imagine it as being empty.
One of my favorite buildings in NYC. Happy PFF.
Superb! :)
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