The Flatiron Building is the narrow, wedge-shaped tower at the point where Fifth Avenue and Broadway cross at 23rd Street in Manhattan. Completed in 1902, it is one of the most photographed buildings in New York, and its triangular shape gave its name to the whole surrounding neighbourhood. Seeing it costs nothing: the experience is about standing at the tip, looking up, and exploring the streets and park around it.
Why see the Flatiron Building
Designed by Daniel Burnham of Chicago, the building was one of the early steel-frame skyscrapers in New York. Its unusual footprint simply follows the triangular plot left where Broadway cuts diagonally across the street grid. At the narrowest end, the building is only a few feet wide, which makes it look like the prow of a ship sailing up Fifth Avenue.
The limestone and terracotta facade is covered in fine detail that rewards a close look. When it opened, the building was among the tallest in the city, and early photographers and painters were drawn to it. Today, surrounded by much taller towers, it is still the one people stop to photograph.
The area around it is also a good example of how Manhattan changes. The streets nearby mix 19th-century department store buildings, tech offices, restaurants and one of the city's best-loved small parks, so a stop here fits easily into a walk between Union Square and Midtown.
Getting to the Flatiron Building by subway
Several lines stop within a block or two, all at stations called 23 St:
- 23 St on the N, R and W lines, on Broadway right beside the building. This is the closest stop.
- 23 St on the 6 line, on Park Avenue South, a short walk east across Madison Square Park.
- 23 St on the F and M lines, on Sixth Avenue, a couple of blocks west.
Be careful when planning: several different stations in Manhattan share the name 23 St, so check which line you are on. OMNY tap-to-pay with a contactless card or phone works at all subway turnstiles.
Can you go inside the Flatiron Building?
The Flatiron Building is privately owned and has no public observation deck or regular tours. For many years it housed offices, and it has more recently been undergoing conversion to residential use, with parts of the exterior wrapped in scaffolding at times. Treat it as a building to admire from the street. There is no ticket and nothing to book.
If you want an indoor visit nearby, the shops and food hall options around Madison Square and Fifth Avenue are open to all.
Best time to visit and photo tips
Early morning is the best time for photos, before the sidewalks and crossings fill up. On weekdays, office and shopping traffic grows from mid morning. Late afternoon light can also be good on the western face.
Good viewpoints include:
- The pedestrian plaza north of the building, at the point where Broadway and Fifth Avenue meet, for the classic head-on view of the narrow tip.
- Inside Madison Square Park, looking south-west through the trees, especially in spring and autumn.
- Further up Fifth Avenue, around 25th or 26th Street, where a longer lens shows the building's full height.
You can see the building in ten minutes, but most people spend an hour or two exploring the area.
What to look for
The prow
The rounded narrow end facing north is the signature view. At ground level a small, single-storey extension sits at the tip, added soon after the building opened.
The facade
Look up at the bands of Renaissance-style ornament in limestone and terracotta, which change from the base to the crown.
The neighbourhood
The Flatiron District around the building has many grand late 19th-century commercial buildings, once part of the shopping strip known as Ladies' Mile.
Nearby on the same stop
- Madison Square Park: directly across 23rd Street, with seasonal public art installations and plenty of benches.
- Shake Shack: the original burger kiosk opened inside Madison Square Park and still draws lines.
- Eataly: a large Italian food hall and market close to the building on Fifth Avenue.
- Union Square: a ten-minute walk south down Broadway, with its Greenmarket on several days a week.
- The Empire State Building: about 15 minutes north on foot along Fifth Avenue.
For more around this stop, see the Flatiron Building on Around the Metro, or browse every station on the New York subway map.