Flatiron Building

The Flatiron Building stands at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, occupying a triangular wedge of land that seems to defy the rigid grid pattern of Manhattan. Long before the structure appeared, locals referred to this peculiar lot as the Flat Iron because of its resemblance to the household tool. When architect Daniel Burnham was hired to develop the site for the Fuller Company in 1901, he chose to lean into this geometric challenge rather than fight it. The resulting twenty-two story tower rises to a sharp prow that measures only six and a half feet wide at its northernmost point.