Photos of Construction Workers Who Had Nerves of Steel
There’s something both daring and awe-inspiring about the way early construction workers seemed to laugh in the face of danger, especially before safety harnesses became standard practice. Armed with little more than a good pair of boots and a prayer, these men perched on steel beams hundreds of feet in the air as they ate lunch, posed for photos, and laid the foundations for some of the most iconic skylines in the world.
From the Empire State Building to the Golden Gate Bridge, these vintage photos capture the fearless spirit of workers who quite literally built the world, while defying gravity itself.
1. Workers Balance on Cables During Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, October 1935
2. Not for the Faint of Heart: A Construction Worker Casually Stands on a Steel Beam High Above a City, 1980s
3. Lunch Atop a Skyscraper: Construction Workers Eat on a Steel Beam Without any Safety Gear in New York City, 1932
4. Workers Guide a Massive Column Capital Into Place in Missouri, 1928
5. A Worker Hangs Onto Heavy Machinery While Working on the Empire State Building in New York City, 1931
6. ‘Steelworker Hanging Out During the Construction of the Empire State Building, 1930’
7. Construction Workers Take a Break on Steel Beams Overlooking London, England, 1929
8. A Worker Balances on a Steel Beam While Pointing Out the Chrysler Building in the Distance, 1931
9. Royal Treatment: Workers Enjoy a High-Rise Meal During Construction of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, 1930
10. Construction Worker Balances on a Narrow Steel Beam While Carrying a Sack Atop Wall Street, New York City, 1930
11. ‘Construction Workers Take a Break During the Construction of the Pan Am Building (Now the Met Life Building) in 1962’
12. A Worker Hangs Onto a Crane Hook During Construction of the Empire State Building, 1930
13. Colorized Image of a Worker Creating a Structural Framework of New York City’s Empire State Building, Circa 1930
14. Steelworkers Take a Break To Eat Lunch While Balancing on Steel Beams Above the City, 1920s
15. ‘Construction Workers in Alexanderplatz, With the Famous Berlin TV Tower in the Background, East Germany, 1969’
16. Construction Workers Sit on Suspension Cables While Eating Lunch in Portland, Oregon, 1931
17. ‘Men Doing Work on the Woolworth Building in New York, 1926’
18. A Construction Worker Waves From a Steel Beam Overlooking New York City, 192os
19. ‘A Worker Helps Construct the Top Floors of the Sears Tower Building in Chicago, 1973’
20. Two Construction Workers Take a Break While Hanging on Curved Steel Beams During Construction of the Empire State Building, 1930
21. A Worker Eats His Lunch While Sitting on the Frame of the One LaSalle Street Building in Chicago, 1929
22. Construction Workers Taking a Break While Working on the Auckland Harbour Bridge in New Zealand, 1959
23. Colorized Image of a Steelworker Balancing on Suspension Cables During Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, 1935
24. Nerves of Steel: Workers Rest on a Steel Beam Above Manhattan, 1932
25. A Man Works on the Manhattan Bridge With the Twin Towers in the Background, 1988
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