Ebook The Flatiron : The New York Landmark and the Incomparable City That Arose with It in DJV, FB2
9781250032041 English 1250032040 "An engaging and informative account of the building's construction and its lasting place in New York's lore." - The Washington PostCritics 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.Built by the Fuller Company to be their New York headquarters, their president, Harry Black, was never able to make the public call it the Fuller Building. Head of the country's largest real estate firm, Black made a fortune and lived out a high-profile, ostentatious life that led to divorce, collapse and at last, suicide.This marvelously written book chronicles not just the construction of the building, but the changing technology and culture that characterized New York at the dawn of the 20th century: Madison Square Park shifted from a promenade for rich women to gay prostitutes, photography became an art, motion pictures came into existence; jazz came to the forefront of popular music - and all within steps of one of the city's best loved buildings. "Alice Sparberg Alexiou's The Flatiron joins such books as Jill Jonnes's Conquering Gotham, about Pennsylvania Station, and Gail Fenske's The Skyscraper and the City, about the Woolworth Building, in a budding genre that we might call biographies of buildings.' - The Wall Street Journal, "The marvelous story of one of New York City's most unique buildings"""""Critics hated it. The public feared it would fall 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.Alice Sparberg Alexiou chronicles not just the story of the building, but the heady times in which it was built. It was the dawn of the twentieth century, 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., 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. This marvelously written book chronicles not just the construction of the building, but the changing technology and culture that characterized New York at the dawn of the twentieth century: Madison Square Park shifted from a promenade for rich women to gay prostitutes, photography became an art, motion pictures came into existence; jazz came to the forefront of popular music-and all within steps of one of the city's best loved buildings. "Alice Sparberg Alexiou's The Flatiron joins such books as Jill Jonnes's Conquering Gotham , about Pennsylvania Station, and Gail Fenske's The Skyscraper and the City , about the Woolworth Building, in a budding genre that we might call biographies of buildings." - The Wall Street Journal, 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"--to 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.InThe 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.
9781250032041 English 1250032040 "An engaging and informative account of the building's construction and its lasting place in New York's lore." - The Washington PostCritics 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.Built by the Fuller Company to be their New York headquarters, their president, Harry Black, was never able to make the public call it the Fuller Building. Head of the country's largest real estate firm, Black made a fortune and lived out a high-profile, ostentatious life that led to divorce, collapse and at last, suicide.This marvelously written book chronicles not just the construction of the building, but the changing technology and culture that characterized New York at the dawn of the 20th century: Madison Square Park shifted from a promenade for rich women to gay prostitutes, photography became an art, motion pictures came into existence; jazz came to the forefront of popular music - and all within steps of one of the city's best loved buildings. "Alice Sparberg Alexiou's The Flatiron joins such books as Jill Jonnes's Conquering Gotham, about Pennsylvania Station, and Gail Fenske's The Skyscraper and the City, about the Woolworth Building, in a budding genre that we might call biographies of buildings.' - The Wall Street Journal, "The marvelous story of one of New York City's most unique buildings"""""Critics hated it. The public feared it would fall 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.Alice Sparberg Alexiou chronicles not just the story of the building, but the heady times in which it was built. It was the dawn of the twentieth century, 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., 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. This marvelously written book chronicles not just the construction of the building, but the changing technology and culture that characterized New York at the dawn of the twentieth century: Madison Square Park shifted from a promenade for rich women to gay prostitutes, photography became an art, motion pictures came into existence; jazz came to the forefront of popular music-and all within steps of one of the city's best loved buildings. "Alice Sparberg Alexiou's The Flatiron joins such books as Jill Jonnes's Conquering Gotham , about Pennsylvania Station, and Gail Fenske's The Skyscraper and the City , about the Woolworth Building, in a budding genre that we might call biographies of buildings." - The Wall Street Journal, 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"--to 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.InThe 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.