Coney Island

Ask any Brooklynite where the best place to be on a warm, sunny, summer Saturday might be and they'll no doubt direct you to Coney Island.

This historic seaside resort has seen many 

Coney Island Beach

changes throughout the decades, but it's still a favorite place for locals and is often frequented by New York visitors who want to get a glimpse at this famous landmark.

The Plaza

When the elegant Plaza Hotel at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street opened its doors on October 1, 1907, local newspapers immediately labeled it 'the best hotel in the world'.

The hotel had 800 rooms, 500 bathrooms,

The Plaza

private suites with up to 17 rooms, 10 elevators, luxurious carpets, marble walls, staircases and fireplaces. It also featured a two story ballroom and a spacious tea room with a Tiffany glass-domed ceiling.

The First Plaza Hotel

It was not the first Plaza Hotel at this prestigious location near Central Park. Already in 1881 an apartment building was planned here. It was named 'Plaza' for its location at the Fifth Avenue Plaza, now known as Grand Army Plaza.

Flatiron Building

The Flatiron Building was constructed between 1901 and 1903 at the intersection of Broadway and 5th Avenue, at the time one of the most prominent sites. It is located near Madison Square at the end of the Ladies' Mile, one of Manhattan's most important shopping districts at the turn of the 19th century.

Not the tallest

The Flatiron Building was designed by Chicago's Daniel Burnham as a steel-frame skyscraper clad in white terra-cotta. At 21 stories and 307 ft (93 meter), it was one of the city's tallest buildings. It was not - as is often incorrectly thought - the tallest building in the world or even the tallest building in New York (these titles belonged to thePark Row building, built in 1899), but its singular shape and prominent location soon made it one of New York City's most famous landmarks.

The building probably featured on more postcards than any other contemporary building. Even the whole area, the Flatiron district, was named after the building. Originally the Flatiron building featured an observatory on the top floor, but taller buildings have taken over this function. It is still however a popular tourist attraction, and one of the most photographed landmarks in New York.

A Flatiron

Built as 

the headquarters of the Fuller Construction company, the skyscraper was meant to be named Fuller Building. But the building was soon dubbed 'Flatiron' after its unusual shape, caused by the triangular plot. Even though the plot is a right triangle while a clothing iron is an isosceles triangle, the name stuck and the building was officially renamed Flatiron Building. The Fuller company built another Fuller Building in 1929.