I’ve been seeing this photo of Lunch Atop a Skyscraper all my life. But I only recently learned a bit of the history of the photo from MentalFloss. Here is the beginning of the article:
The Great Depression inspired some of the most memorable photographs of the 20th century by perfectly capturing the heartache and suffering of a nation out of work. Images of breadlines, derelict housing, and desperate mothers informed the cultural consciousness by bringing the Depression to newsstands across the United States. But Lunch Atop a Skyscraper was different.
The sight of 11 Rockefeller Center construction workers casually eating lunch across a beam hanging 850 feet in the air was a hopeful look at life in the ’30s. It showed the world that New York City—and America as a whole—was still building, still progressing, and, most importantly, still working.
It’s been over eight decades since the image was printed in the New York Herald-Tribune on October 2, 1932, and it’s been one of the most well-recognized pieces of photography ever since. Here are 10 fascinating facts about Lunch Atop a Skyscraper.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
