Lunch atop a Skyscraper by Charles C. Ebbets Analysis

When the Great Depression stroked the United States, citizens were in a deep sorrowful mindset that the media wasn’t able to help overcome. In 1932, the New York Herald Tribune newspaper published this image of the construction site of the Rockefeller Center, which resulted in awes, arguments, and new raising hope for the US’s economic progress.

The photo was taken from the skyscraper that was been built at the moment; in the center, eleven ironmen, wearing their dirty trousers, overalls, work boots and gloves; are casually seated on a beam with their feet dangling over 850 feet in the air. Under them, is the city of New York on one of its usual busy days and you can even see Central Park on the right. It’s shocking how these men can be so carelessly enjoying their food and cigarettes in such a situation without fearing the fall; it’s even more shocking when you look closely and realize that one of them is shirtless and another one has what looks like a bottle of whiskey on his hand. However, don’t get mistaken, this was a staged photograph taken for the publicity campaign of the Rockefeller Center, they were actually workers of the construction, but they were also asked to have their lunch on that beam and look this peaceful.

At first, the photographer of this iconic image was not pinpointed; and later Charles C. Ebbets received credit for it with other artists like Thomas Kelly. Eventually, the photo was officially attributed to “unknown” by the Rockefeller archive. Back then, the company had hired a few photographers for this publicity campaign, and it was pretty usual that they would not receive any credit for their work. Moreover, just as the photographer’s, these men’s identities are also unknown, except for two individuals, whose names were shared on a documental after a long investigation. This is mainly because there were no records about the workers involved in the construction and it’s rumored that around 40000 people were hired for it.

The photograph represents the total opposite from the rushed lunch that New Yorkers used to and still have; these men are indifferent to everything around them. They have their food and each other company, and it doesn’t matter how high they are or how much work they had been doing that week, they are taking a break. They’re clearly relaxed and brave, what no other US citizen was like during the Great Depression.

In addition to this, is a cherished moment between ordinary people from different nationalities, an optimistic view of the international panorama in a moment when the United States felt margined from the other countries. That was meant to encourage people to embrace others from another background and to acknowledge every immigrant who went to the United States looking for the opportunity of a better life. 

Overall, this image succeeded in delivering more than one positive message that reaches any kind of audience and it remains as one iconic moment of New York’s history that no one will forget about.