DESIGN
The Flatiron Building, one of New York's iconic buildings, goes up for auction
Does it seem impossible that one of New York's iconic buildings, the Flatiron Building, should suddenly be put up for auction? Strangely enough, it is a real thing and depends, as it often does, on a dispute between owners.
The building, a city monument since 1966 and inaugurated in 1902, is much loved by New Yorkers but has in fact been abandoned for a few years now, with many disputes between the various owners who have decided to wash their hands of it and sell, although the aim would be to wrest 25% of the ownership from one of the partners, the only one who has problems with all the others.
Soon, therefore, the famous Flatiron, so renamed by the citizens, could have new owners and a new life.
The Flatiron Building, one of New York's iconic buildings, goes up for auction
Does it seem impossible that one of New York's iconic buildings, the Flatiron Building, should suddenly be put up for auction? Strangely enough, it is a real thing and depends, as it often does, on a dispute between owners. The building, a city monument since 1966 and inaugurated in 1902, is much loved by New Yorkers but has in fact been abandoned for a few years now, with many disputes between the various owners who have decided to wash their hands of it and sell, although the aim would be to wrest 25% of the ownership from one of the partners, the only one who has problems with all the others. Soon, therefore, the famous Flatiron, so renamed by the citizens, could have new owners and a new life.
Flatiron Building up for auction
Do you dream of buying a palace in New York? On 22 March, you can. In fact, the historic Flatiron Building, one of the most iconic buildings in all of Manatthan, will go up for auction that very day, with an auction open to the public. So anyone with the necessary means can become the sole owner.
The Flatiron Building on the Fifth Avenue
Officially called the Fuller Building, the citizens of the Big Apple named it the Flatiron because its shape resembles that of an iron. Built in 1902 by the Chicago architect Daniel Burnham in the Beaux-Arts style, it stands on a triangular lot between 23rd Street, Fifth Avenue and Broadway looking towards the Madison Square Park Conservancy. At the time of its opening, New Yorkers wondered how much this unusual building would be able to withstand the gusts of wind that are very prevalent in this part of the island.
The situation of the owners of the Flatiron Building
Currently, ownership of the building is reportedly divided between five real estate companies. As reported by the ANSA news agency, GFP Real Estate, Newmark, ABS Real Estate Partners, and the Sorgente group (who together hold 75 per cent of the skyscraper), want to 'divorce' from the fifth partner, Nathan Silverstein, who holds the remaining 25 per cent, after years of squabbling over what to do with the now almost deserted building.
The causes of discord between owners
For a long time, the building was the headquarter of the British publishing house Macmillan, which occupied the property until 2019. After the departure of the publishing house, it seems that one of the owners, specifically Newmark, tried to rent the building to a company for flexible offices, below market price. This earned the complaint of one of the other owners, Silverstain, which in turn is accused of doing nothing concrete to resolve the situation. One of the owners, who spoke to Hyperallergic and was quoted by ElleDecor magazine, said: 'The idea is to keep the property by getting he 25 per cent of Silverstein.
A little trivia about the Flatiron Building
The Flatiron Building also has its own importance in the world of comic books, being the historic home of the Daily Bugle, the Marvel Universe's fictional newspaper, and the place where Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, and one of his main antagonists, editor J. Jonah Jameson (author of an uninterrupted smear campaign against the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man). He also appeared in a cameo in the 1962 Fantastic 4.
Tablet computers and tech gadgets
Art galleries private collections
31/05/2023
On the Cariadeghe plateau in Serle, in the Brescia area of Italy, speleologists have unearthed a priceless find: a perfectly preserved ancient skeleton of a woman who lived during the Iron Age, between the 10th and 6th BC.
The woman, called Masha, was found in a cave at a depth of 12 metres, in a huge cavity probably used as a place for animals to hibernate. Along with the woman, the remains of a bear that had been extinct for 30,000 years were also found.
The Cariadeghe plateau had already risen to the headlines a few months ago, as various groups of speleologists were intent on carrying out expeditions to search for water in the area's complex of unexplored underground caverns, and also a way to utilise this water, which would solve quite a few of the region's water problems.
Art galleries private collections
30/05/2023
Egypt continues to unveil the secrets of its ancient history, and probably never will. At Saqqara, the necropolis 30 km south of Cairo, two of the largest embalming laboratories ever to come to light have in fact been discovered.
In addition to these two sites, which in itself would make the discovery sensational, two sarcophagi, one belonging to the Old Kingdom (ca. 2400 BC) and one to the New Kingdom (ca. 1400 BC), have also returned to the surface.
The region of Saqqara, where everything was found, is one of the largest royal necropolises in Egypt and home to the oldest stone building in history, the step pyramid of Djoser.
Art galleries private collections
Art galleries private collections
Tablet computers and tech gadgets
Creams perfumes lotions
27/05/2023
Scarlett Johansson took centre stage on the Cannes red carpet alongside her husband Colin Jost for Wes Anderson's star-studded film Asteroid City.
Scarlett Johansson wore a pastel pink dress created for her by Prada to which she paired star earrings.
The cast of Asteroid City for the red carpet at Cannes included Jason Schwartzman, Jeffrey Wright, Rupert Friend, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Alexandre Desplat, Bryan Cranston, Maya Hawke, director Wes Anderson, Adrien Brody, Matt Dillon, Fisher Stevens, Steve Carell and Stephen Park.
Nature
26/05/2023
Data collected by the World Meteorological Organisation, which is part of the United Nations, on the direct effects of climate change over the last 50 years, from 1970 to 2021, have been released in recent days.
The data collected are truly frightening, and speak of more than 12,000 natural disasters specifically due to climate change, with more than 2 million ascertained victims and an economic damage that has been calculated, over the five decades, at 4300 billion dollars.
Island states and developing countries are most affected, and the figure could have been even worse had it not been for the help of early warnings, which still fail to cover a large part of the world's population.