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Chicago Ironworkers Recreate "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper" Photo, With a Couple of Modern-Day Twists

By Rain Noe - October 19, 2017

in Photography

"Lunch Atop a Skyscraper," the iconic 1932 photograph of ironworkers perched on a beam 840 feet in the sky, is probably one of the most recognized photographs of the 20th Century.

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While the ironworkers in the photo really were the men building the 30 Rockefeller Plaza building, and are actually on-site, it is widely believed that the photograph was staged and not captured spontaneously. Hilariously, this has led internet conspiracy theorists and/or jokesters to misbelieve that the photograph is fake. In turn these folks have Photoshopped fake versions of it being faked:

THIS IS FAKE

The actual photograph is real, and Corbis owns the original negative.

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In any case, a bunch of ironworkers in Chicago decided to recreate the photograph, with a couple of modern-day twists (apart from the modern-day background). See if you can spot them:

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You've got to admit the Chicago guys did a pretty good job with the mimicry.

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Zoltan Csillag

7 years ago

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Meh - The original is well executed and much more interesting. There's focus on the subject (group of people). Clear and distinct individuals. The concept is interesting and unique for the time. The recreation is a mess. Foreground runs into background. There's no distinction between the two. Color takes away from the story. What is the story? Characters are uninteresting and not unique.
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David Merrell

7 years ago

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Safety gear!

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Kostas Syrtariotis

7 years ago

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Cellphone on the far left, plastic bottle on the far right.
Cool!

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