The Flatiron is an iconic 22-story New York building, built in 1902 on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. It was one of the first skyscrapers in Manhattan and its most peculiar characteristic is its triangular shape whose northern vertex forms a very acute angle. Barcelona, and specifically the Ribera neighborhood, has its particular Flatiron. It only has one ground floor and five floors, but, like New York, it is wedge-shaped, and the corner of Rec and Triangle streets forms an angle even more acute than that of the Manhattan skyscraper.
The Barcelona building stands on a unique triangular plot of land between Rec, Triangle and Corretgers. It was built in the mid-18th century in an area initially affected by demolitions for the construction of the Ciutadella after the fall of Barcelona in 1714, in the War of Succession. Subsequently, this perimeter area that delimited the esplanade that acted as a security zone between the fortress and the city was redeveloped and one of its results was that acute triangle at one of its vertices. According to Joan Amades, on Triangle Street there was the date 1750 inscribed on the door of one of the buildings, which gives an approximate idea of its construction.
To build the Ciutadella and the esplanade, more than 1,200 houses were demolished and some 5,000 citizens were evicted from what was once the fishing district of Barcelona. The Bourbon authorities forced the inhabitants themselves to demolish their homes and businesses without any compensation. The remains of some of these buildings can be seen today in the basement of the old Born market.
To replace the missing homes, Philip V's military engineers designed the current Barceloneta, which became the new fishing quarter, which was not built until 1753, almost 40 years after the city's surrender. Thus, very few families were able to benefit from the new homes. The majority had gone to live outside Barcelona, to towns where they could resume their fishing activity.
