Can you go inside the Flatiron Building?

No. The Flatiron Building has never been open to the public; it was an office building for over a century and is now being converted to residences. There's no lobby tour, observation deck, or museum. The building is meant to be admired from outside, and the best spot is the plaza across 23rd Street, where its wedge shape fills the view between Fifth Avenue and Broadway.

Where is the best place to photograph the Flatiron Building?

Stand on the triangular pedestrian plaza across 23rd Street from the building's point, with Madison Square Park behind you, and shoot north. That angle shows the full wedge with Fifth Avenue on one side and Broadway on the other. Early morning has the best light on the limestone facade; the plaza is busy by midday. From inside Madison Square Park, the building rises over the trees.

Where is the Flatiron Building?

The Flatiron Building is at 175 Fifth Avenue, where Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and 23rd Street meet, in the Flatiron District between Midtown and Union Square. Take the N, R, or W train to 23rd Street, which exits steps from the building, or the 6 to 23rd Street on Park Avenue, a three-minute walk. Madison Square Park is directly across the street.

Flatiron Building

Landmark

Flatiron District

Manhattan

Free Entry

No items found.

About

The Flatiron Building is the wedge-shaped skyscraper at the intersection of Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and 23rd Street, and one of the most photographed buildings in New York City. Completed in 1902 and designed by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, it rises 22 stories and 285 feet on a triangular lot so narrow that its northern point is just six feet wide. Its shape, like a cast-iron clothes iron, gave it its name and gave the neighborhood around it, the Flatiron District, its identity.

When it opened, the building was one of the tallest in the city and a marvel of steel-frame construction clad in limestone and terra cotta in the Beaux-Arts style. New Yorkers were convinced the wind would blow it over; instead, the wind whipping around its point became famous for lifting women's skirts, and police reportedly shooed away gawkers with the phrase 23 skidoo. Photographers Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Steichen made it an icon of the new century, and it has appeared in films from Spider-Man, where it's the Daily Bugle, to Godzilla.

Visiting Flatiron Building with a tour in New York City

The building was an office tower for 120 years and is now being converted to residences. It has no public interior access, but it doesn't need any: the point of the Flatiron is the view of it, best seen from the small triangular plaza across 23rd Street with Madison Square Park behind you, where the building fills the wedge of sky between two avenues.

Insider Tip

Come at 8am when the sun lights the eastern face and the plaza is empty, and shoot from the point of the pedestrian island on 23rd Street with the building filling the frame. Then cross into Madison Square Park for the view over the trees and the original Shake Shack, which opened here in 2004. For a second angle, walk two blocks north on Broadway and look back: the building's point seems to slice the street in half.

History & Facts

The Flatiron Building has been a New York icon since 1902. Here are the key facts every visitor should know:

Can you go inside the Flatiron Building? No. The building has never had public access, and it's currently being converted to residential apartments. It's meant to be seen from outside, and the plaza across 23rd Street is the classic vantage point.
How tall is the Flatiron Building? 22 stories and 285 feet, and its northern point is only about six feet wide.
Its official name is the Fuller Building, after the construction company that built it; Flatiron was a nickname that stuck.
The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1966 and a National Historic Landmark in 1989.
It's the Daily Bugle headquarters in the Spider-Man films, and it's been destroyed on screen in Godzilla and Armageddon.
The wind effect at its point was real: the phrase 23 skidoo is said to come from police clearing men who gathered on 23rd Street to watch skirts blow up.

When to visit

The Flatiron Building can be seen at any hour, and since the visit is about the view, light and crowds are what matter.

Early morning, from sunrise to about 9am, is the best time: the sun lights the building's eastern face along Fifth Avenue, the pedestrian plaza across 23rd Street is empty, and there's no one in your photograph. Late afternoon puts the sun behind the building from the classic angle, which works for silhouettes but not for the facade's detail.

By midday on any day and all afternoon on weekends, the plaza and the surrounding sidewalks are busy with photographers, Madison Square Park visitors, and the line for Shake Shack. The building is lit at night and photographs well after dark, when the traffic streaks on Broadway add to the shot.

Spring and fall bring Madison Square Park's trees into the frame; winter after snow makes the wedge stand out starkly. Because it's outdoors and free, the Flatiron is an easy addition to any walk between Midtown and Union Square in any weather.

Getting there

The Flatiron Building is at 175 Fifth Avenue, at the triangle where Fifth Avenue, Broadway, and 23rd Street cross. Take the N, R, or W train to 23rd Street, which exits on Broadway directly beside the building, or the 6 train to 23rd Street on Park Avenue, a three-minute walk west. The F and M trains stop at 23rd Street on Sixth Avenue, five minutes away.

Madison Square Park is directly across 23rd Street, and the Empire State Building is a ten-minute walk north on Fifth Avenue. Union Square is ten minutes south on Broadway.

Use our interactive NYC subway guide to plan your exact route from any hotel or neighborhood before you arrive.

Free Interactive guide - by Experience NYC

NYC Subway Navigator App

Frequently Asked Questions

More Sights Nearby