The Flat Iron Building: Iconic Atlanta Architecture & Historic Landmark
- Clementine Kornder
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 hour ago
Celebrating good design in Atlanta means focusing on what makes our city unique, comforting, and historical. Some designs are more unique than others and in this regard, the Flat Iron building takes the cake!
The Quiet Genius—Bradford Lee Gilbert
Designed by Bradford Lee Gilbert, the Flat Iron was a mix of beaux-arts and romanesque influences emphasizing verticality, symmetry, and detailed façades. Gilbert often incorporated classical details into otherwise modern steel structures. He also worked extensively as a railway architect, designing depots and corporate offices for major railroads, which were expanding rapidly in the late 1800s.
High-rise Development Started Here
Emerging only a few decades after the Civil War, the Flatiron stood as a bold emblem of the "New South"—a city rising from the ashes into modernity and ambition. Its construction helped kick off a wave of high-rise development along Peachtree Street, contributing to Atlanta’s transformation into a true urban center.
Here are 10 facts about the Flatiron Building in Atlanta, Georgia
Oldest Standing Skyscraper in Atlanta: The Flatiron Building, completed in 1897, is the oldest standing skyscraper in Atlanta.
Pre-dates NYC’s Flatiron: Atlanta’s Flatiron Building was constructed five years before the more famous Flatiron Building in New York City (completed in 1902).
Originally Called the English-American Building: The building was originally named the English-American Building, reflecting its British-American ownership.
Triangular Design: Its unique triangular shape fits into the wedge-shaped lot between Peachtree Street and Broad Street, giving it its “Flatiron” nickname. There are actually a number of flatiron buildings world-wide and you can see the list here.
Ten Stories Tall: The building stands 10 stories high, which was considered quite tall at the time of its construction.
Designed by Architect Bradford Gilbert: The architect, Bradford Gilbert, was known for designing innovative urban buildings, especially on tricky plots of land.
Steel Frame Construction: It was one of the first buildings in Atlanta to use a steel frame, a modern construction method at the time.
Historical Landmark Status: The Flatiron Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, officially recognizing its historic significance.
Revitalized as a Tech Hub: In the 2010s, it was renovated and became home to FlatironCity, a space focused on startups, tech companies, and innovation.
Connected to Atlanta’s Early Growth: The building’s creation marked a period of rapid development in post-Civil War Atlanta, symbolizing the city's growth into a major Southern hub.
Renewal and Revitalization of Iconic Atlanta Architecture
Preservation of older buildings is both a popular and sustainable approach to maintaining the character of a city while providing updated space for new industry and residency. The Flat Iron building underwent major renovations in 2015 including the removal of the plumbing, wiring, hvac, previously installed drop ceiling, carpet, drywall, and outdated partitions. This is common in preservation work because these items are often no longer up to code, inefficient, or unusable. Also, stripping down to the steel frame allowed for a clean redesign.
The foundation and exterior also got an update with original brick and stone façade meticulously cleaned and repaired and the windows either restored or replaced with historically accurate, energy-efficient versions.
While most buildings undergo some sort of light retrofit every few decades, older buildings may undergo major overhauls like this once every 50–100 years. Other examples of this that you will see around Atlanta are turning old factories into loft apartments (Cotton Mill Lofts), historic banks into boutique hotels (Candler Hotel), and churches into performance venues (The Tabernacle).
Good Design Deserves to Be Celebrated
Some of you reading this post, may be seeing our fabulous hand-crafted cardboard costumes honoring these local architectural icons at the Inman Park Parade or Atlanta Streets Alive. If you'd like to see more of these events and you feel that exploring how design influences our lives is important, please consider supporting the work of the Architecture and Design Center here.
Our nonprofit organization connects the public with the design industry, architectural advancements, and city planning that makes Atlanta a thriving hub of community and commerce. Celebrating good design since 2012, we have nurtured public exploration of design through programming like the Design Forum Series, Dining by Design, the Bridgescape Competition, and the Shoptalk Podcast. We have also partnered with the Georgia and Atlanta chapters of the AIA and Georgia Tech to create the Georgia Design Archive. In everything we do, we center what makes good design, building strategies to elevate public awareness of good design in our built environment, so that Atlanta develops in the best ways possible.