View source for Lunch atop a Skyscraper

{{Short description|1932 photograph of workers atop the steelwork of the RCA Building}}
{{Italic title}}
{{good article}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2018}}
[[File:Lunch atop a Skyscraper - Charles Clyde Ebbets.jpg|thumb|right|''Lunch atop a Skyscraper'', 1932|upright=1.7|alt=Eleven men sitting on a steel beam high over a skyscraper.]]
'''''Lunch atop a Skyscraper''''' is a black-and-white photograph taken on September 20, 1932, of eleven ironworkers sitting on a steel beam of the [[RCA Building]], {{convert|850|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} above the ground during the [[construction of Rockefeller Center]] in [[Manhattan]], New York City. It was a staged photograph arranged as a [[publicity stunt]], part of a campaign promoting the skyscraper. 

The photographic negative is in the [[Bettmann Archive]], owned by the [[Visual China Group]]. The image is often misattributed to [[Lewis Hine]], but the identity of the actual photographer remains unclear. Evidence emerged indicating it may have been taken by [[Charles Clyde Ebbets|Charles C. Ebbets]], but it was later found that other photographers had been present at the shoot as well. Many claims have been made regarding the identities of the men in the image, though only a few have been definitively identified. Ken Johnston, manager of the historic collections of [[Corbis Corporation|Corbis]], called the image "a piece of American history".{{Sfnp|''The Telegraph''|2012}}

== Overview ==
[[File:Rockefeller Center, December 1933 (cropped).jpg|thumb|The RCA Building in December 1933 during the [[construction of Rockefeller Center]]|right]]
The photograph depicts eleven men eating lunch while sitting on a steel beam {{convert|850|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} above the ground on the sixty-ninth floor of the near-completed RCA Building (now known as [[30 Rockefeller Plaza]]) at [[Rockefeller Center]] in [[Manhattan]], New York City, on September 20, 1932. These men were immigrant ironworkers employed at the RCA Building during the [[construction of Rockefeller Center]]. They were accustomed to walking along the [[girder]]s. The photograph was taken as part of a campaign promoting the skyscraper. Other photographs taken depict the workers throwing a football and pretending to sleep on the girder. [[Central Park]] is visible in the background.{{Sfnmp|1a1=Time Inc.|1y=2016|1p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jg1QDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT46 26]|2a1=''Smithsonian''|2y=2012|3a1=''The New York Times'' 2012 (b)|4a1=GPP|4y=2018|4p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pg9dDwAAQBAJ&dq=%2230%20Rockefeller%20Plaza%22%20%22RCA%20building%22&pg=PA148 148]}}

== History ==
[[File:These Hungry Steel-Workers Must Be on a Balanced Diet.jpg|thumb|Another image from the same publicity shoot]]
The photograph was distributed by [[Acme Newspictures]] and was published in newspapers as early as September 30, 1932.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and Space|work=The Buffalo Times|date=September 30, 1932|page=1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-times-a-cup-of-coffee-a-san/148489965/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=While New York's Thousands...|work=Kansas City Journal-Post|date=October 16, 1932|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/kansas-city-journal-while-new-yorks-tho/148490059/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> It was published in the Sunday supplement of the ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'' on October 2, 1932, with the caption: "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper".{{Sfnmp|1a1=''The New York Times'' 2012 (b)|2a1=''Time''|2y=2016|2loc=01:08}}

In 1995, [[Corbis Images]], a company that provides archived images to professional photographers, bought a collection of over eleven million images called the [[Bettmann Archive]]. The ''Lunch atop a Skyscraper'' photograph was in the Acme Newspictures archive, a part of the Bettmann collection, although it was uncredited. According to Ken Johnston, manager of the historic collections of Corbis, the image was initially received in a [[Manila paper]] envelope. The original [[glass negative]] of the photograph had broken into five pieces. It is stored in a humidity and temperature-controlled preservation facility at the [[Iron Mountain storage facility]] in Pennsylvania.{{Sfnmp|1a1=''The New York Times'' 2012 (b)|2a1=''Star-News''|2y=2003|3a1=Reuters|3y=2012}}

In 2016, Visual China Group purchased Corbis's image division and content licensing unit, including the Bettman Archive and ''Lunch atop a Skyscraper.''<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-01-23 |title=Visual China buys Corbis Entertainment |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-corbis-m-a-vcg-idUSKCN0V101L |access-date=2023-01-20}}</ref> Visual China Group licenses the photograph internationally through an agreement with [[Getty Images]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-01-22 |title=Getty Images and Visual China Group Partner in Exclusive Global Distribution Partnership for Extensive Visual Content Collection of Corbis Images |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160122005714/en/Getty-Images-and-Visual-China-Group-Partner-in-Exclusive-Global-Distribution-Partnership-for-Extensive-Visual-Content-Collection-of-Corbis-Images |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=www.businesswire.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Identification ==
=== Photographer ===
The identity of the photographer is unknown. It was often misattributed to [[Lewis Hine]], a [[Works Progress Administration]] photographer, from the mistaken assumption that the structure being built is the [[Empire State Building]].{{Sfnmp|1a1=''The New York Times'' 2012 (b)|2a1=''Star-News''|2y=2003}} In 1998, Tami Ebbets Hahn, a resident of [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], noticed a poster of the image and speculated that it was one of her father's ([[Charles C. Ebbets]]; 1905–1978{{Sfnmp|1a1=''Star-News''|1y=2003|2a1=''The New York Times'' 2012 (a)}}) photographs. In 2003, she contacted Johnston. Corbis hired Marksmen Inc., a private investigation firm, to find the photographer. An investigator discovered an article from ''[[The Washington Post]]'', which credited the image to Hamilton Wright. The Wright family, however, was not familiar with the photograph. It was common for Wright to receive credit for photographs taken by those working for him;{{Sfnp|''Star-News''|2003}} Hahn's father had worked for the Hamilton Wright Features syndicate.{{Sfnp|''The New York Times'' 2012 (a)}}

In 1932, Ebbets had been appointed the photographic director of Rockefeller Center, responsible for publicizing the new skyscraper. Hahn found her father's paycheck of $1.50 per hour (equivalent to ${{Inflation|index=US|value=1.5|start_year=1932}} per hour in {{Inflation/year|US}}), the ironworkers photograph, and an image of her father with a camera, which appeared to be of the same place and time. Analyzing the evidence, Johnston said: "As far as I'm concerned, he's the photographer."{{Sfnp|''Star-News''|2003}} Corbis later acknowledged Ebbets's authorship.{{Sfnp|''The Daytona Beach News-Journal''|2012}} It was later discovered that photographers Thomas Kelley, William Leftwich, and Ebbets were present there on that day.{{Sfnp|Time Inc.|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jg1QDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT46 26]}} Due to the uncertain identity of the photographer, the image is again without credit.{{Sfnp|Reuters|2012}}

=== Ironworkers ===
According to a ''[[New York Post]]'' survey, numerous claims have been made regarding the identities of the men in the image.{{Sfnp|''New York Post''|2003}} The 2012 documentary ''[[Men at Lunch]]'' investigated claims that two of the men were Irish immigrants, and the director reported in 2013 that he planned to follow up on other claims from Swedish relatives. The film confirms the identities of two men: Joseph Eckner, third from the left, and Joe Curtis, third from the right, by cross-referencing with other pictures taken the same day, in which they were named at the time.{{Sfnmp|1a1=''The New York Times'' 2012 (b)|2a1=''Hallandsposten''|2y=2013}} The first man from the right, holding a bottle, has been identified as Slovak worker Gustáv (Gusti) Popovič. The photograph was found in his estate, with the note "Don't you worry, my dear Mariška, as you can see I'm still with bottle" written on the back.{{Sfnp|''iDNES.cz''|2013}}
[[File:Lunch atop a Skyscraper - Charles Clyde Ebbets (cropped).jpg|frameless|center|upright=3.5|alt=Close-up of the 11 men sitting on a steel beam.]]

== Legacy ==
The photograph has been referred to as the "most famous picture of a lunch break in New York history" by Ashley Cross, a correspondent of the ''[[New York Post]]''.{{Sfnp|''New York Post''|2003}} It has been used and imitated in many artworks, and has been [[colorized]]. Sculptor [[Sergio Furnari]] modeled from it a {{Convert|40|ft|m|sp=us|adj=mid|-long}} statue, which was displayed near the [[World Trade Center site]] after the [[September 11 attacks]].{{Sfnmp|1a1=''The New York Times'' 2012 (b)|2a1=''The New York Times''|2y=2007|3a1=''The Washington Post''|3y=2019}} The image has been a best seller for its licensors.{{Sfnmp|1a1=''The Daytona Beach News-Journal''|1y=2012|2a1=''Transatlantica ''|2y=2013|2p=1}} Although critics have dismissed the photograph as a [[publicity stunt]], Johnston called it "a piece of American history".{{Sfnmp|1a1=''The Telegraph''|1y=2012|2a1=''The Washington Post''|2y=2019}} Taken during the [[Great Depression]], the photograph became an icon of New York City{{Sfnp|Time Inc.|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jg1QDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT46 26]}} and has often been re-created by construction workers.{{Sfnp|''The Washington Post''|2019}} ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' included the image in its 2016 list of the 100 most influential images.{{Sfnp|Time Inc.|2016|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=jg1QDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT46 26]}} Discussing the significance of the image in 2012, Johnston said:
<blockquote>There's the incongruity between the action – lunch – and the place – 800 feet in the air – and that these guys are so casual about it. It's visceral: I've had people tell me they have trouble looking at it out of fear of heights. And these men – you feel you get a very strong sense of their characters through their expressions, clothes and poses.{{Sfnp|Reuters|2012}}</blockquote>

The photograph also inspired a ride called the Beam, which opened on the former RCA Building's 69th floor terrace in December 2023.<ref name="Rahmanan 2023 o001">{{cite web |last=Rahmanan |first=Anna |date=December 1, 2023 |title=Recreate this historical photo on top of Rockefeller Center right now |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/recreate-this-historical-photo-on-top-of-rockefeller-center-right-now-120123 |access-date=December 4, 2023 |website=Time Out New York}}</ref><ref name="Team 2023 z402">{{cite web |date=December 1, 2023 |title="The Beam" at Rockefeller Center lets visitors recreate iconic New York City photo |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/the-beam-rockefeller-center-new-york-city-construction-workers-lunch-photo/ |access-date=December 4, 2023 |website=CBS New York}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of photographs considered the most important#1930s|List of photographs considered the most important]]

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

== Works cited ==
<!-- Sources are ordered by #publisher/journal/newspaper, not by author's last name -->
'''English sources'''
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tauranac |first=John |title=Manhattan's Little Secrets: Uncovering Mysteries in Brick and Mortar, Glass and Stone |publisher=[[Globe Pequot Press]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4930-3048-4 |ref={{sfnRef|GPP|2018}}}}
* {{cite news |last1=Cross |first1=Ashley |title=Up in the Air; Mystery Deepens in Old Pic |url=https://nypost.com/2003/10/26/up-in-the-air-mystery-deepens-in-old-pic/ |work=[[New York Post]] |date=October 26, 2003 |access-date=May 6, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''New York Post''|2003}}}}<!-- Primary Source for claims. -->
* {{Cite news |last=Perkins |first=Corinne |date=September 20, 2012 |title=Protecting an Iconic Image |publisher=[[Reuters]] |url=http://blogs.reuters.com/photographers-blog/2012/09/20/protecting-an-iconic-image/ |url-status=dead |access-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922124704/http://blogs.reuters.com/photographers-blog/2012/09/20/protecting-an-iconic-image/ |archive-date=September 22, 2012 |ref={{sfnRef|Reuters|2012}}}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Gambino |first=Megan |date=September 19, 2012 |title=Lunch Atop a Skyscraper Photograph: The Story Behind the Famous Shot |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lunch-atop-a-skyscraper-photograph-the-story-behind-the-famous-shot-43931148/ |magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |issn=0037-7333 |ref={{sfnRef|''Smithsonian''|2012}} |access-date=May 6, 2022}}
* {{Cite news |last=Hotz |first=Amy |date=November 10, 2003 |title=A Photo Finished |work=[[Star-News]] |url=http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20031110/NEWS/311100319 |url-status=dead |access-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003073522/http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20031110/NEWS/311100319 |archive-date=October 3, 2013 |ref={{sfnRef|''Star-News''|2003}}}}
* {{Cite news |last=Parente |first=Audrey |date=March 5, 2012 |title=Ormond Woman, Daughter Document Legacy |work=[[The Daytona Beach News-Journal]] |url=https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/2012/03/06/ormond-woman-daughter-document-legacy/30578982007/ |access-date=May 6, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''The Daytona Beach News-Journal''|2012}}}}
* {{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Jennifer 8. |date=January 18, 2007 |title=A Mobile Work of Art Is Missing an Ironworker |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/18/nyregion/18statue.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 7, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''The New York Times''|2007}}}}
* {{Cite news |last=Pollak |first=Michael |date=March 9, 2012 |title=Answers to Questions About New York |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/nyregion/answers-to-questions-about-new-york.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119002832/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/nyregion/answers-to-questions-about-new-york.html |archive-date=January 19, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''The New York Times'' 2012 (a)}}}}
* {{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=John |date=November 8, 2012 |title=How a Galway Pub Led to a Skyscraper |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/movies/lunch-atop-a-skyscraper-uncovered.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201220518/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/movies/lunch-atop-a-skyscraper-uncovered.html |archive-date=February 1, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''The New York Times'' 2012 (b)}}}}
* {{Cite news |date=September 20, 2012 |title=Lunch Atop a Skyscraper: Iconic American photo is 80 years old |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/9550389/Lunch-Atop-a-Skyscraper-iconic-American-photo-is-80-years-old.html |access-date=May 7, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''The Telegraph''|2012}}}}
* {{Cite news |last=Contrera |first=Jessica |date=September 1, 2019 |title=One of the most iconic photos of American workers is not what it seems |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/09/01/one-most-iconic-photos-american-workers-is-not-what-it-seems/?wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121190215/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/09/01/one-most-iconic-photos-american-workers-is-not-what-it-seems/?wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1 |archive-date=November 21, 2020 |ref={{sfnRef|''The Washington Post''|2019}}}}
* {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QCYDzsQ_yM |title=Lunch Atop A Skyscraper: The Story Behind The 1932 Photo |date=November 28, 2016 |type=Video |publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |ref={{sfnRef|''Time''|2016}} |access-date=May 6, 2022 |via=[[YouTube]] |quote=The image first appeared in the ''New York Herald Tribune'' on October 2nd, 1932.}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jg1QDwAAQBAJ |title=100 Photographs: The Most Influential Images of All Time |publisher=[[Time Inc.]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-61893-507-6 |ref={{sfnRef|Time Inc.|2016}} |access-date=May 6, 2022 |via=[[Google Books]]}}
{{Refend}}
'''Non-English sources'''
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite news |date=March 10, 2021 |title=Un vasco, entre los trabajadores de la icónica foto del Rockefeller Center |trans-title=A Basque, among the workers of the iconic photo of Rockefeller Center |work=[[EITB]] |url=https://www.eitb.eus/es/cultura/detalle/7899532/natxo-ibarguen-foto-almuerzo-rascacielos-nueva-york/ |access-date=May 7, 2022 |quote=Natxo Ibarguen Moneta es uno de los trabajadores que aparecen en la famosa foto de 1932 'Lunch atop a skyscraper' (Almuerzo sobre un rascacielos) [Natxo Ibarguen Moneta is one of the workers who appears in the famous 1932 photo 'Lunch atop a skyscraper'] |ref={{sfnRef|EITB|2021}}|language=Spanish}}
* {{Cite news |last=Bergström |first=Håkan |date=January 5, 2013 |title=Högt över New York satt bondpojkarna från Okome |trans-title=High above New York sat the peasant boys from Okome |work=[[Hallandsposten]] |language=Swedish |url=https://www.hallandsposten.se/nyheter/halland/h%C3%B6gt-%C3%B6ver-new-york-satt-bondpojkarna-fr%C3%A5n-okome-1.1442135 |access-date=May 6, 2022 |quote=Irländaren Seán Ó Cualáin har precis gjort en film om bilden, ''Men at Lunch'', där han med olika grad av visshet har identifierat några av byggjobbarna som irländska immigranter&nbsp;... Vi mejlar honom&nbsp;... Svaret kommer rätt omgående: 'Nej, de två du nämner har vi ingen aning om vilka de är. Stålarbetarna var ofta irländare, indianer (Native Americans), skandinaver och newfoundländare. Så ett svenskt anspråk är trovärdigt.'&nbsp;... Vi vill gärna åka till Sverige och träffa dina kontakter, förmodligen i slutet av 2013 eller början av 2014. [The Irishman Seán Ó Cualáin has just made a film about the film, ''Men at Lunch'', where he with varying degrees of certainty has identified some of the construction workers as Irish immigrants&nbsp;... We email him&nbsp;... The answer comes right away: 'No, the two you mention, we have no idea who they are. The steelworkers were often Irish, Native Americans, Scandinavians and Newfoundlanders. So a Swedish claim is credible.'&nbsp;... We would like to go to Sweden and meet your contacts, probably at the end of 2013 or the beginning of 2014.] |ref={{sfnRef|''Hallandsposten''|2013}}}}
* {{Cite news |date=October 1, 2013 |title=Oběd na vrcholu mrakodrapu: jak to opravdu bylo |trans-title=Lunch at the top of the skyscraper: How it really was |work={{ill|iDNES.cz|cz}} |publisher=[[Mafra (company)|Mafra]] |url=https://www.idnes.cz/xman/styl/slavna-fotka-delnici-odpocivaji-na-vrcholu-mrakodrapu.A130926_124524_xman-styl_fro |access-date=May 7, 2022 |ref={{sfnRef|''iDNES.cz''|2013}} |quote=Také Popovič má totiž důkaz in memoriam. V pozůstalosti po něm zůstala právě ta fotka, o níž je řeč, a na zadní straně bylo napsáno: 'Nič še ty neboj, moja milá Mariška, jak vidziš, ta ja furt s fľašečku. Tvoj Gusti.' [Popovič also has proof in memoriam. The picture in question remained in his estate, and it was written on the back: 'Don't worry, my dear Mariska, as you can see, I'm still with a bottle. Your Gusti.']|language=Czech }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Perrier |first=Frédéric |date=2013 |title="Lunch Atop a Skyscraper" : le cliché mythique fête ses 80 ans|trans-title='Lunch Atop a Skyscraper': the mythical cliché celebrates its 80th anniversary |url=http://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/5788 |journal=Transatlantica |issue=1 |language=French |doi=10.4000/transatlantica.5788 |issn=1765-2766 |url-access=registration |access-date=May 7, 2022 |via=[[Journals.openedition.org]] |quote=C’est l’image la plus vendue de l’agence fondée en 1989 par Bill Gates, Corbis Image, qui, pour l’occasion, a fait de surprenantes révélations. [This is the best-selling image from the agency founded in 1989 by Bill Gates, Corbis Image, which, for the occasion, made some surprising revelations.] |ref={{sfnRef|''Transatlantica ''|2013}}|doi-access=free }}
{{Refend}}

{{Rockefeller Center}}

[[Category:1932 works]]
[[Category:1932 in art]]
[[Category:1932 in New York City]]
[[Category:1930s photographs]]
[[Category:1930s in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Black-and-white photographs]]
[[Category:Lunch]]
[[Category:Works about food and drink]]
[[Category:Photographs of the United States]]
[[Category:Publicity stunts]]
[[Category:Rockefeller Center]]
[[Category:September 1932 in the United States]]
[[Category:Works of unknown authorship]]
[[Category:Works originally published in the New York Herald Tribune]]