Flatiron District, Manhattan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

borough

Borough (New York City)

New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...

of Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, named after the Flatiron Building

Flatiron Building

The Flatiron Building, or Fuller Building, as it was originally called, is located at 175 Fifth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, New York City and is considered to be a groundbreaking skyscraper. Upon completion in 1902 it was one of the tallest buildings in the city and the only skyscraper...

at 23rd Street

23rd Street (Manhattan)

23rd Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is one of few two-way streets in the gridiron of the borough. As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided at Fifth Avenue, in this case at Madison Square Park, into its east and west sections. Since...

, Broadway

Broadway (New York City)

Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...

and Fifth Avenue. Generally the Flatiron District can be said to be bounded by 20th Street, Union Square

Union Square (New York City)

Union Square is a public square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.It is an important and historic intersection, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century; its name celebrates neither the...

and Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...

to the south; the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) or Seventh Avenue

Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)

Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....

and Chelsea

Chelsea, Manhattan

Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...

to the west; 25th Street and NoMad

NoMad

NoMad is a neighborhood centered around the Madison Square North Historic District in the borough of Manhattan in New York City....

to the north; Rose Hill

Rose Hill, Manhattan

Rose Hill is a recently-revived name for a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is bounded by 25th Street and 30th Street on the south and north, and by Third Avenue and Madison or Fifth Avenue on the east and west...

to the northeast, and Lexington Avenue/Irving Place, Gramercy Park

Gramercy Park

Gramercy Park is a small, fenced-in private park in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park is at the core of both the neighborhood referred to as either Gramercy or Gramercy Park and the Gramercy Park Historic District...

to the east.

Broadway

Broadway (New York City)

cuts through the middle of the district, and Madison Avenue begins at 23rd Street and runs north. At the north (uptown) end of the district is Madison Square Park

Madison Square

Madison Square is formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for James Madison, fourth President of the United States and the principal author of the United States Constitution.The focus of the square is...

, which was completely renovated in 2001. The Flatiron District encompasses within its boundaries the Ladies' Mile Historic District

Ladies' Mile Historic District

The Ladies' Mile Historic District was designated in May 1989, by the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission to preserve an irregular district of 440 buildings on 28 blocks and parts of blocks in Manhattan, from roughly 18th Street to 24th Street and from Park Avenue South to west of the...

and the birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site is a recreated brownstone at 28 East 20th Street, between Broadway and Park Avenue South, in Manhattan, New York City....

, a National Historic Site

National Historic Sites (United States)

National Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...

.

The Flatiron District is part of New York City's Manhattan Community Board 5

Manhattan Community Board 5

Manhattan Community Board 5 is a local government unit of New York City, New York in the United States. It encompasses Midtown, Times Square, most of the Theatre District, the Diamond District, the Garment District, Herald Square, Koreatown, NoMad, Murray Hill and the Flatiron District, all in the...

History and name

The designation "Flatiron District" for this area is of relatively recent vintage, dating from around 1985, and came about because of its increasingly residential character, and the influx of many restaurants into the area – real estate agents needed an appealing name to call the area in their ads. Before that, the area was primarily commercial, with numerous small clothing and toy manufacturers, and was sometimes called the Toy District. The Toy Center

Toy Center

The Toy Center, also known as the International Toy Center, is a complex of buildings in the New York City borough of Manhattan that for many years has been a hub for toy manufacturers and distributors in the United States. It consists of two buildings located between 23rd Street and 25th Street...

buildings at 23rd Street and Broadway date from this period, and the annual American International Toy Fair

American International Toy Fair

The American International Toy Fair is one of a few major toy industry trade shows held around the world. It is held annually in mid February in New York City's Toy Center, located at 23rd Street at the crossover of Fifth Avenue and Broadway and at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and is...

took place there beginning in 1903, except for 1945. When much of this business moved outside the U.S., the area began to be referred to as the Photo District because of the large number of photographers' studios and associated businesses located there, the photographers having come because of the relatively cheap rents.

As of the 2000s, many publishers

Publishing

Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...

have their offices in the district, as well as advertising agencies, and the number of computer- and Web-related start-up companies in the area caused it to be considered part of "Silicon Alley

Silicon Alley

Silicon Alley is a nickname for an area with a concentration of Internet and new media companies in Manhattan, New York City. Originally, the term referred to the cluster of such companies extending from the Flatiron District down to SoHo and TriBeCa along the Broadway corridor, but as the location...

" or "Multimedia Gulch", along with TriBeCa

TriBeCa

Tribeca is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York in the United States. Its name is an acronym based on the words "Triangle below Canal Street", and is properly bounded by Canal Street, West Street, Broadway, and Vesey Street...

and SoHo

SoHo

SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...

, although this usage declined considerably after the dot.com bubble burst.

Buildings

The Flatiron District is located in the part of Manhattan where the bedrock

Bedrock

In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...

Manhattan schist

The Manhattan schist is a formation of mica schist rock that underlies much of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is well suited for the foundations of tall buildings, and the two large concentrations of skyscrapers on the island occur in locations where the formation is close to the...

is located deeper underground that it is above 29th Street and below Canal Street

Canal Street (Manhattan)

Canal Street is a major street in New York City, crossing lower Manhattan to join New Jersey in the west to Brooklyn in the east . It forms the main spine of Chinatown, and separates it from Little Italy...

, and as a result, and under the influence of zoning laws, the tallest buildings in the area used to top out at around 20 stories; older buildings of 3-6 floors are still numerous, especially on the side streets.

Notable buildings in the district include the Flatiron Building

Flatiron Building

, one of the oldest of the original New York skyscrapers, and just to east at 1 Madison Avenue is the Met Life Tower

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower

The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, also known as the Metropolitan Life Tower or Met Life Tower, is a landmark skyscraper located on East 23rd Street between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South, off of Madison Square Park. in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...

, built in 1909 and the tallest building in the world until 1913, when the Woolworth Building

Woolworth Building

The Woolworth Building is one of the oldest skyscrapers in New York City. More than a century after the start of its construction, it remains, at 57 stories, one of the fifty tallest buildings in the United States as well as one of the twenty tallest buildings in New York City...

was completed. It is now occupied by Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse

The Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:...

since MetLife moved their headquarters to the Pan Am Building. The 700 feet (213.4 m) marble clock tower of this building dominates Madison Square

Madison Square

and the park there.

Nearby, on Madison Avenue between 26th and 27th Streets, on the site of the old Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

, is the New York Life Building

New York Life Building

The New York Life Insurance Building, New York, located at 51 Madison Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, across from Madison Square Park, is the headquarters of the New York Life Insurance Company.- History :...

, built in 1928 and designed by Cass Gilbert

Cass Gilbert

- Historical impact :Gilbert is considered a skyscraper pioneer; when designing the Woolworth Building he moved into unproven ground — though he certainly was aware of the ground-breaking work done by Chicago architects on skyscrapers and once discussed merging firms with the legendary Daniel...

, with a square tower topped by a striking gilded pyramid. Also of note is the statuary adorning the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court on Madison Avenue at 25th Street.

Completed in 2010, "One Madison Park

One Madison Park

One Madison Park is a luxury residential condominium tower at 22 East 23rd Street, at the foot of Madison Avenue, across from Madison Square Park in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City.-History:...

", an exclusive 50 story luxury residential condominium tower, sits at 22 East 23rd Street, at the foot of Madison Avenue, across from Madison Square Park. It is nearly as tall as the Met Life Tower (617.5 feet (188.2 m), compared to 700 feet (213.4 m) for the Tower), and taller than the Flatiron Building. The asking price for the triplex penthouse is $45 million.

Education

Baruch College

Bernard M. Baruch College, more commonly known as Baruch College, is a constituent college of the City University of New York, located in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, New York City. With an acceptance rate of just 23%, Baruch is among the most competitive and diverse colleges in the nation...

of the City University of New York

City University of New York

The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...

, is located on E. 23rd Street

23rd Street (Manhattan)

and Lexington Avenue

Lexington Avenue (Manhattan)

Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated by New Yorkers as "Lex," is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street...

on the eastern edge of the district. The College sits on the former site of the Free Academy (now City College of New York

City College of New York

The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...

), which was founded in 1847 and was the first institution of free public higher education in the United States. Baruch's Newman Vertical Campus as well as the Zicklin School of Business

Zicklin School of Business

The Zicklin School of Business is Baruch College's business school. It was established in 1919 and is one of the oldest business schools in the world. It is named after financier and alumnus Lawrence Zicklin...

, the largest collegiate school of business in the United States, are also located on 24th and 25th Streets between Third and Lexington Avenues.

Culture and shopping

Giving this area a bit of color are the Museum of Sex

Museum of Sex

The Museum of Sex, also known as MoSex, is a sex museum located at 233 Fifth Avenue near 27th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It opened on October 5, 2002.-History:...

and the Gershwin Hotel, both located on 27th Street. The Gershwin is a tribute to the late pop artist Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol

Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...

, and features some of his art and memorabilia throughout the hotel.

There are also many stores around the area, such as Ann Taylor

Ann Taylor (retail chain)

ANN INC. is an American group of specialty apparel retail chain stores for women, headquartered in New York City, . The stores offer classic styled suits, separates, dresses, shoes and accessories...

, Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...

, Club Monaco

Club Monaco

Club Monaco is a mid-priced, high-end casual clothing retailer owned by Polo Ralph Lauren. With more than 69 stores in North America, the retailer has locations in Canada, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, South Korea, China, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United...

and Origins

Origins (cosmetics)

Origins is a cosmetics brand from USA, founded in 1990 by Leonard Lauder, son of Estee Lauder. It is one of the original brands of The Estee Lauder Companies, meaning that it was created by the Lauder family, not obtained through an acquisition or buy-out.The company is known for their natural...

. "Big-box" retailers dominate Sixth Avenue between 14th Street and 23rd Street, at the district's western edge.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History and name

Buildings

Education

Culture and shopping

See also

External links