Corbis tried to track them down 12 years ago, but couldn’t identify any of them. In addition to the photographer, the names of the construction workers also remain secret. Lunch Atop A Skyscraper: The Story Behind The Famous Shot In 1932 Rock: The construction of the 14 towers of Rockefeller Center was the largest private construction project undertaken in modern times. The iconic image has often been misattributed to Lewis Hine, famous for documenting the rise of the Empire State Building in 1931. The photo first appeared in the New York Herald Tribune on October 2, 1932, just weeks after it was taken.Īlthough the photo is usually attributed to photographer Charles Ebbets, information a private investigation firm discovered in 2003, the Corbis say that after it became clear there were several photographers in the shot, they are no longer sure whether he took it. Men Lunching On Construction Beam Mobile 2130 “Second”: This is a photo of four construction workers sleeping on the same beam, taken on the same day, which, according to the archives, proves it was all just a ruse. Johnston described the famous black and white photo as “a piece of American history”. The original photograph negative is stored in a temperature-controlled facility under Iron Mountain in Pennsylvania. He added that it is Corbis Images’ best-selling historical image and outsells other iconic historical photos in the Corbis catalog, including photos of Albert Einstein and Martin Luther King. Labor Day: “lunch Atop A Skyscraper,” Was A Staged Photo Of New York Iron Workers During The Depression It looks like they were real workers, but the event was staged with some photographers,” Ken Johnston, chief historian of Corbis Images, which owns the rights to the image, told the Independent. “The photo was a publicity stunt for Rockefeller Center. The image of 11 workers perched on a girder 69 stories above Manhattan, having lunch, sharing jokes and lighting cigarettes is one of the most reproduced in the world. Taken on September 20, 1932, it was intended as a natural break during construction of the RCA Building (later renamed the GE Building in 1986), which is part of Rockefeller Center. Remember That Photo Of The Construction Workers Having Lunch On The Unfinished Empire State Building? Well Here’s The Photographer Charles Ebbets Taking That Photo. Staged: The iconic photograph of workers enjoying a break perched on a beam 69 floors above was actually just a publicity stunt. The claim is backed up by a second – and rarely seen – image from the same staging of the shoot, showing the crew in a different pose, reclining on a log. Though the models were real hard workers, the moment was staged by Rockefeller Center to promote their new skyscraper 80 years ago today. From The Archives: Leavenworth Shot Hundreds Of Thousands Of Images
It’s one of the most iconic photos of all time, but as it celebrates its 80th anniversary, it turns out that Ironworkers Eating Lunch On BeamĪbove the streets of Manhattan, showing 11 construction workers enjoying a break on a suspended beam was actually a publicity stunt.
It shows steel workers sitting on a different beam but doing almost identical things -eating, slouching, smoking - as the Corbis image.Ĭould it possibly be that steel workers frequently ate lunch together perched on the steel beams they were constructing, and thus did not need much wrangling for PR purposes?Īlmost certainly: This web site notes that the image was taken by Charles Ebbets, and in fact it shows the RCA (now GE) building, not the Rockefeller building.Ironworkers Eating Lunch On Beam – Image demonstrating why iconic photograph of workers on Rockefeller beam was eaten was a publicity stunt It's just as "rarely seen" as the Mail's new image, because it isn't quite as characterful as the Corbis scene. 29, 1932, just nine days after the Corbis image was taken.
#Workers eating lunch on beam archive#
The workers were thus posed in the lunch-eating scene, because they didn't behave that way in real life, the Mail concludes.Ī 5 minute search through the current AP Photo archive produces this photo (below) from Sept. As "proof," the Mail has found a second "rarely seen" image from the shoot showing the workers napping on the beam, and generally looking a lot less appealing and photogenic as the iconic Corbis image.
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