Iconic Lunch: Ironworkers' Sky-High Meal on a Steel Beam

This famous black-and-white photograph was taken on 20 September 1932. It shows 11 ironworkers enjoying lunch 850 feet above the ground on a steel beam.

High-Rise Photograph
The image was captured during the construction of the RCA Building in Manhattan, New York City. It was part of an effort to showcase the new skyscraper.

Mystery Photographer
The identity of the photographer remains a mystery, though it is often wrongly credited to Lewis Hine.

The photograph first appeared in the New York Herald Tribune's Sunday supplement on 2 October 1932, captioned: "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper".

Preserving History
The original glass negative of the photograph broke into five pieces.

It is now stored in a climate-controlled facility at Iron Mountain in Pennsylvania, ensuring this iconic moment in history is preserved.