Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Architecture Historical Importance of Skyscrapers on the New York Skyline Historical Importance of Skyscrapers on the New York Skyline Skyscrapers have been a part of New York City for almost one hundred years. Some were built to be the highest in the world at the time. Some had extravagant designs, and some were very simple. In this address, I will focus on two skyscrapers, the New York World building and the Flatiron building, both with very interesting stories behind them. The New York World building was completed in 1890 for Joseph Pulitzer, the Prize’s namesake, to house his daily newspaper, The New York World. It was the tallest building in the world at the time. The building and its’ prestigious location in the heart of Manhattan’s Newspaper Row, across from City Hall, did not come cheap, even in 1890. At the time, there was an intense rivalry between Pulitzer’s World and news baron William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal, the basis for Orson Well’s controversial film Citizen Kane. The Journal labeled the World of being “Yellow Journalism”, or printing worthless slosh. The World building itself was a thin, neo-Renaissance tower with tiers of arched windows. A tall drum supported the crowning dome, complete with a fine gold finish. The building was demolished in 1955 to accommodate a better approach to the Brooklyn Bridge, widening Frankfurt Street and re-routing Park Row. Still standing today, however is the Flatiron building. This structure has made an appearance in modern media through the television show “Veronica’s Closet”. The 22 story Flatiron was completed in 1902. The 92-meter high building became an immediate midtown landmark, a large wedge-shape diving Broadway from Fifth Avenue. The building has a steel frame and a non-load bearing masonry facade, built to remake a classical column with a protruding, ornamented base and top. This building is also equipped with an electric generator to provide it with its own electricity and heat. It was first called the Fuller Building, after Fuller Construction Co., of New York, the company that built it. Fuller later moved its headquarters to another midtown locale. The building had always been casually referred to as the Flatiron due to its triangular shape, and the name ended up sticking. Many people marveled at the immense height of the structure, but it was never the tallest building. To contrast the size of the buildings, the Transamerica Pyramid in downtown San Francisco is more than twice the size of the Flatiron. In conclusion, turn-of-the-century New York produced some of the greatest advances in building technology to date. The skyscraper age also began the era of big business and urban congestion. Bibliography: Word Count: 424
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