The Flatiron (B&W)

The genius of the Flatiron is its prow — the rounded point of the wedge, only about six feet wide, that seems to sail up Fifth Avenue like the bow of a ship. The building's limestone and terra-cotta skin is layered with Renaissance detail that rewards a close look.

Photographed May 2013, from directly beneath the point. The prow climbs straight out of the frame to the cornice, the brick and stone raking back on either side. Stripped to black and white, it becomes pure geometry — the single edge that made the building famous.