The Flatiron: The New York Landmark and the Incomparable City That Arose with It

Be the first to write a review

All Available Formats + Editions

——

$12.99

NOOK Book

——

$12.99

The Flatiron: The New York Landmark and the Incomparable City That Arose with It (eBook - First Edition) Pub. Date: 6/8/2010 Publisher: St. Martin's Press
$5.48

$18.70

Hardcover

$5.48

$18.70

The Flatiron: The New York Landmark and the Incomparable City That Arose with It (First Edition) Pub. Date: 6/8/2010 Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

Advertising

Overview

The marvelous story of the Flatiron: the instantly recognizable building that signaled the start of a new era in New York history.

Critics hated it. The public feared it would topple over. Passersby were knocked down by the winds. But even before it was completed, the Flatiron Building had become an unforgettable part of New York City.

The Flatiron Building was built by the Chicago-based Fuller Company—a group founded by George Fuller, "the father of the skyscraper"—o be their New York headquarters. The company's president, Harry Black, was never able to make the public call the Flatiron the Fuller Building, however. Black's was the country's largest real estate firm, constructing Macy's department store, and soon after the Plaza Hotel, the Savoy Hotel, and many other iconic buildings in New York as well as in other cities across the country. With an ostentatious lifestyle that drew constant media scrutiny, Black made a fortune only to meet a tragic, untimely end.

In The Flatiron, Alice Sparberg Alexiou chronicles not just the story of the building but the heady times in New York at the dawn of the twentieth century. It was a time when Madison Square Park shifted from a promenade for rich women to one for gay prostitutes; when photography became an art; motion pictures came into existence; the booming economy suffered increasing depressions; jazz came to the forefront of popular music—and all within steps of one of the city's best-known and best-loved buildings.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

Journalist Alexiou, whose grandfather bought the Flatiron Building with three other investors in 1946, offers a detailed but discursive narrative about one of New York's most recognizable landmarks from the turn of the 20th century. With a novelistic structure, the book relates a breathless social history about numerous figures who played a role in what was originally known as the Fuller Building: the developers and builders, the architects, and the financial backers, as well as subsequent investors and their next of kin. Particular attention is paid to the lives of George A. Fuller's son-in-law Harry S. Black, who became president of the Fuller Company in 1900, and his wife. Art and architectural historians may find compelling the chapter on the building's potent imagery, especially as codified by photographer Alfred Stieglitz. But other than a 1902 photograph of the steel frame being covered with terra cotta tiles, no floor plan or other essential graphic documentation supports the building analysis. VERDICT This meandering tale will be of interest to only the most devoted student of New York urban history. Sarah Bradford Landau and Carl W. Condit's Rise of the New York Skyscraper: 1865–1913 remains the definitive source for understanding this iconic work.—Paul Glassman, Felician Coll. Lib., Lodi, NJ

Jonathan Yardley

Alexiou…has written an engaging and informative account of the building's construction and its lasting place in New York's lore.
—The Washington Post

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780312384685
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: 6/8/2010
Edition description: First Edition
Edition number: 1
Pages: 320
Sales rank: 248,424
Product dimensions: 6.30 (w) x 9.30 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Alice Sparberg Alexiou is the author of Jane Jacobs: Urban Visionary. Learn more online at www.alicesparbergalexiou.com.

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review

( 0 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines

Tell the world what you think of this product.

Add Recommendations

Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.

gmanpma

Posted November 21, 2010

more from this reviewer

A Great Read

New York City never fail to amaze. There is so much history in this building and this book. Very well written.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Anonymous

Posted March 20, 2011

No text was provided for this review.

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble