Flatiron Building, New York

    The Skyscraper, modern American cities are defined by them.  Their towering spires and intricate shapes, the word itself brings to mind the steel and glass towers which climb thousands of feet into the sky.  While most Americans look upon the Sears Tower, World Trade Center or Empire State Building as the ultimate achievement of modern skyscraper design, it is a modest twenty story building, built in a section of the city which, at the turn of the century was considered “uptown”, that holds the distinction of having starting it all; The Flatiron Building.  Built at the intersection of Broadway and Fifth Avenue by Daniel H. Burnham, the Flatiron Building conforms to the triangular plot of land which marks the intersection of East 23rd Street.  At twenty stories tall the building quickly became a symbol of the skyscraper era and is considered the nations first true skyscraper.  A rusticated limestone facade build on a steel frame, the building, when viewed from the north, “resembled a ship sailing up the Avenue.” (From Architectural Record # 12 (1902); 128-36 Seth M. Scheiner)  Despite the far taller buildings that were later built, having survived the wrecking ball and modernization of the Broadway/Fifth Avenue section of the city, the Flatiron Building remains one of the few surviving examples of early 20th century technology, and the perfect example of early 1900's architectural composition.