[Leica] The Flatiron Building

[lrzeitlin at gmail.com (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

The Flatiron Building has been around for more than a century. Here is a
1906 photo by Jessie Tarbox Beals from the collection of the Museum of the
City of New York, via the New York Times. Notice the lack of development
around the building in contrast to Vince's recent picture. The building sits
on a triangular lot, just south of Madison Sq. Park, where Fifth Avenue and
Broadway cross at 23rd st. It was said that the architect, Daniel Burnham,
designed it on a bet when no one believed that he could put a building on
such a narrow triangular lot. Local folklore says that it was the origin of
the phrase "23 Skidoo." The winds deflected by the shape of the building
caused strong updrafts that tended to lift woman's skirts and gave loungers
a glimpse of ankle and knee. It didn't take much to excite men in the early
1900s.


http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Flatiron+Building.jpg.html


The area is at the edge of New York's photo district. You can see strobe
flashes popping from studio windows day and night. It is one of the few
areas in New York where you can walk around with three Leicas hanging from
neck and shoulder without someone thinking that you had ripped off a camera
store. My own office for 32 years was on Park Avenue, two blocks southeast
of the Flatiron Building.


Larry Z