Flatiron District, Manhattan
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The Flatiron District is a small neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. The boundaries of Manhattan neighborhoods are notoriously hard to pin down and tend to be in flux, but generally the Flatiron District can be said to be bounded by 14th Street, Union Square and Greenwich Village to the south; Sixth Avenue and Chelsea to the west; 28th Street and Midtown South to the north; and Lexington Avenue/Irving Place, Gramercy Park and the neighborhood of Gramercy to the east.
Broadway cuts through the middle of the district, and Madison Avenue begins there at 23rd Street and runs north. Near the north end of the district is Madison Square Park, which was completely renovated in 2001. The Flatiron District encompasses within its boundaries the Ladies' Mile Historic Distric, and the birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt, a National Historic Site.
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,[1] and the influx of many restaurants into the area[2] – real estate agents needed an appealing name to call the area in their ads. Before that, the area was primarily commercial, and was often known 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.[3] A part of the area was known as the "Toy District", because of the toy manufacturers located in the Toy Center buildings at 23rd Street and Broadway and the area around it, and the annual American International Toy Fair that has taken place there since 1903 (except for 1945).
Currently, many publishers have their offices in the district, as well as advertising agencies,[4] and the number of computer- and Web-related start-up companies in the area caused it to be called "Silicon Alley" or "Multimedia Gulch" for a while.[5]
Notable buildings in the district include the 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, built in 1909 and the tallest building in the world until 1913, when the Woolworth Building was completed. It is now occupied by Credit Suisse since MetLife moved their headquarters to the PanAm Building. The 700 foot marble clock tower of this building dominates Madison Square and the park there.
Nearby, on Madison Avenue between 26th and 27th Streets, on the site of the old Madison Square Garden, is the New York Life Building, built in 1928 and designed by Cass Gilbert, 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.
As of March 2008, "One Madison Park", an exclusive 47-51 story luxury residential condominium tower is under construction at 22 East 23rd Street, at the foot of Madison Avenue, across from Madison Square Park. When completed, it will be almost as tall as or slightly taller then the Met Life Tower (604-617 feet, depending on the source, compared to 614 feet for the Tower), and taller than the Flatiron Building.[6] The asking price for the triplex penthouse is $45 million.[7]
Baruch College of the City University of New York, is located on E. 23rd Street and Lexington Avenue on the eastern edge of the district. The College sits on the former site of the Free Academy (now City College of New York), 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, the largest collegiate school of business in the United States, are also located on 24th and 25th Streets between Third and Lexington Avenues.
Giving this area a bit of color are the Museum of Sex and the Gershwin Hotel, both located on 27th Street. The Gershwin is a tribute to the late pop artist Andy Warhol, and features some of his art and memorabilia throughout the hotel.
There are also many stores around the area, such as Ann Taylor, Victoria's Secret, Club Monaco and Origins. "Big-box" retailers dominate Sixth Avenue between 14th Street and 23rd Street, at the district's western edge.
[edit] Notes
- ^ If You're Thinking of Living in: The Flatiron District New York Times (22 December 1991)
- ^ Shawn G. Kennedy In Flatiron Area, Cafe Expansion New York Times (3 June 1987)
- ^ David S. Hawkins If You're Thinking of Living in: Flatiron District New York Times (30 October 1988)
- ^ Eleanor Blau Mix of People and Business, New York Times (7 July 1985)
- ^ Bret Pulley New York Striving to Become Technology's Creative Center New York Times (13 February 1995)
- ^ "47-story condo tower with 90 units planned for 23rd Street", Image of "The Saya"
- ^ One Madison Park website
[edit] External links
- Flatiron/23rd Partnership BID
- Madison Square Park Conservancy
- History of the International Toy Center
- Drive to Protect the Ladies' Mile
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