During the early decades of the twentieth century, American cities were transformed by the construction of skyscrapers, characterized by their great height and steel-frame construction. The early skyscrapers of the 1880s and 1890s could still be accomodated within existing city plans--clusters of small and medium-sized buildings set close together. A decade later, however, skyscrapers were reaching ever-greater heights and ushered in dramatically different approaches to urban planning.
On this Pluck and Luck cover, a young bootblack stands in front of New York City's Flatiron Building, designed by the architect D.H. Burnham in 1901. Upon its completion in 1903, the building was the tallest skyscraper north of the city's financial district. Standing 21 stories high and 307 feet tall, it filled the triangular plot at the intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street and towered above the district's fashionable hotels and entertainment halls. The elegant building became a symbol of Manhattan and was a favorite subject of photographers Edward Steichen and Alfred Stieglitz. Here the building provides an apt backdrop for the poor bootblack in the story, who distinguishes himself through heroic deeds and hard work, achieving the height of fame and fortune.