I know basically nothing about architecture (unless you count having read The Fountainhead five times) but I love it just the same. I have a favorite building in every city I've ever lived in or visited. In Chicago, there's the Associates' Center and Marina City. In Phoenix, there's Gamage and Tempe City Hall. In Oak Park, there's the Unity Temple. In San Francisco, the Transamerica Pyramid. The Grand Hotel in Michigan. Belleview Biltmore in San Diego. In Pennsylvania you've got Fallingwater... I'm the only person I know who chooses vacation spots by virtue of what good buildings are close. My husband has gotten used to this ridiculous predilection of mine and happily goes along with every nonsense road trip I've ever dreamed up where I said, "Hey, let's drive eleven hours so we can go stand outside of a building that we're not allowed to go inside." This is just one of the reasons we've remained married for twelve years.

Actually, I have a favorite building in every city I've ever been in with two exceptions: Washington, D.C. and New York City. Washington, D.C. because that marble, faux Greek/Roman style simply doesn't appeal to me (although, oddly, Washington is my favorite city) and New York because there are just too many to narrow down to one or two.

Once I attended a master class with Pinchas Zuckerman and the gentleman sitting in front of me asked "Pinky" (I feel I can call him that now - afterall we've been in the same room together) a question about what piece of music was his favorite. He gave the answer that we all expected: that he simply could not narrow it down to one piece of music; there were so many. But the man, who had brought his four daughters to the master class and was trying to impress them, wouldn't let it go and kept pushing, naming some of Zuckerman's most prominent recordings and prodding him to choose one, just one, that was the best, the most well-played, the most cherished. He got pretty much the same answer the second time, but he was dogged in his determination and asked a third time. Zuckerman obviously grew weary with the man's refusal to accept his answer and he finally sat back in his chair, sighed loudly and said, "Are those your children?"

"Yes," the man replied, "I have my four daughters with me today."

Zuckerman leaned out toward the audience and stared at him, "Which one of them do you love the most?"

If, for some horrible reason, one day I had to make the Sophie's Choice of choosing my favorite building in New York, I think I would have just as much trouble answering. But the Flatiron building would probably be in my top ten... or twenty.

I had a great time photographing it this weekend but I'll save the precious bandwidth and only show you my seven favorite photos.