The Flatiron Building is located at 401 East Court Street in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and was constructed in 1902.
On August 3, 1903, the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company building burned, but by the time firefighters arrived, an explosion had occurred on the second level that sent flames reaching into the sky. Falling bricks injured three pedestrians. By the time three lines were sent into the building, explosions stemming from the stored barrels of oil and paint began to occur on the south side of the structure on the ground floor. Thankfully, the over 12,000 barrels of turpentine and linseed oil that were stored in an attached iron cellar had not been breached.
Before:
After:
Side Note: Someone on Reddit wondered why the company name was misspelled as Pittsburg and not Pittsburgh. I wondered this myself, considering that PPG lists their heritage back to the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, but other sources list it as the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was known as Pittsburg from 1890 to 1911 following a declaration from the United States Board on Geographic Names. Pittsburg Plate Glass was founded in 1895. I am assuming that after public pressure forced a change in the city’s name back to Pittsburgh, the company changed its name to reflect its home city.
Have a nice photo of that building just after the fire with an article from the following day that chronicles the events at the fire, including an explosion and the injury of a few fireman. If interested, contact me at whouston56@fuse.net. Nice site. Bill
I like this building because I saw how intricate the design is. I was able to witness parts of how well they made this including the use of Freo crane hire. I hope they would build other classic buildings like this.