Twentythree Skidoo Aug 2008

The Flatiron Building, the world's first Skyscraper. Basically that means the first tall building built using a steel internal skeleton. The most impressive buildings built for several decades before were the cast iron buildings. Cast iron has great compressive strength but sucks in every other criterion. Makes pretty buildings though When first built, the Flatiron Building towered over the neighborhood. Air currents seemed to become magnified as they passed the pointed end, to the great surprise of the ladies who passed by and suddenly found their skirts blown upward. Men began to congregate here, hoping to witness just such an event. You have to bear in mind that this took place during the Victorian age when men were transported into fits of lust merely viewing a woman's ankle. Anyway, according to Luc Sante's Low Life, the cops took it upon themselves to end this innocent sport of lusty men. When men gathered for their favorite sport, the cops would tell them "twentythree, skidoo" Twenty three referred to 23 St at the point of the building and skidoo meant to get the hell out of there.

Twentythree Skidoo Aug 2008