Lunch atop a New York City skyscraper, 1932

Photo by Charles C. Ebbets

This is a famous photograph taken during construction of 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan. It depicts eleven men eating lunch, seated on a girder with their feet dangling 840 feet above the New York City streets. The photograph was taken on September 20, 1932, on the 69th floor of the RCA Building during the last months of construction.

Although the photograph shows real ironworkers, it is believed that the moment was staged by Rockefeller Center to promote its new skyscraper. The photo appeared in the Sunday photo supplement of the New York Herald Tribune on October 2.