Labor Day is used to commemorate all of us who work hard to make our country prosper. Every year, one photo goes viral on this day: Lunch atop a Skyscraper.

The story behind this photograph is as astonishing as it is mysterious, and it also sheds light on the working conditions in the United States at the time.

Lunch atop a Skyscraper and How It Honors Workers

Lunch atop a Skyscraper features 11 workers sitting on a steel beam, their feet dangling over the void, enjoying their break. Some are eating, others are smoking, one holds a bottle presumably filled with liquor, and all seem to be chatting, seemingly relaxed, while New York stretches out beneath them hundreds of meters below. None of them are wearing safety harnesses.

Despite what many might think, this photo is not a hoax. They were indeed perched on that beam, without any safety precautions, at a height of 820 feets.

However, one of the secrets surrounding the photograph is that the workers’ attitude wasn’t entirely spontaneous. The image was part of an advertising campaign during the construction of the RCA Building at the Rockefeller Center in 1932, right in the midst of the Great Depression. The purpose of this campaign was to promote the real estate industry in New York.

To achieve this, the poses were meticulously planned, and a carefully designed yet natural setting was created. This photograph wasn’t the only one from the campaign; there are other less-known but equally stunning images that helped boost the real estate market in New York. The photo was taken from the 69th floor of the Rockefeller Center on September 20, 1932, and although astonishing, it continues to be so today, albeit for different reasons.

What Message Does This Photograph Convey?

At first glance, Lunch atop a Skyscraper highlights the precariousness of working conditions in the United States during the Great Depression. The crisis of 1929 left society virtually unemployed, leading people to accept unsafe and unstable jobs out of necessity.

Regarding authorship, it has not been possible to determine with certainty who the courageous photographer behind this image was, as courageous as the models themselves. The archives attribute it to an anonymous author, but Charles Ebbets or Lewis Hine have been suggested as the most likely candidates. To date, no evidence has been found to definitively support either claim.

Another aspect of the image, although mentioned in the archives, is that the beam was not completely suspended in the void; there was a fully finished floor just a few meters below, making a fall not necessarily fatal.

Little is known about the workers themselves. Most of them were immigrants, mainly of Italian and Irish origin, although in recent years, one of them has been identified as Natxo Ibargüen Mendata, a Basque individual.

In summary, the iconic photograph “Lunch atop a Skyscraper” offers a powerful glimpse into the harsh working conditions during the Great Depression in the United States while revealing the advertising ingenuity behind its creation. This image continues to be a symbol of workers’ bravery and the importance of workplace safety, despite the mysteries that surround it. Now that you know the story behind Lunch atop a Skyscraper, the most iconic photo of Labor Day, you’ll surely have something to comment on regarding it.