Lunch atop a Skyscraper is a 1932 iconic photograph taken during the construction of the Rockefeller Center in New York.

The image shows 11 workers sitting on a narrow metal beam about 250 meters above the ground. They eat, smoke, and talk without insurance, demonstrating incredible calmness at such a height. The photo was taken during the construction of the RCA building (now GE Building, part of the Rockefeller Center).

Lunch atop a Skyscraper. The author is still unknown

For a long time, the authorship of the photograph remained unknown, but now it is attributed to photographer Charles Ebbets. However, other photographers could have participated in creating the photo. The photograph was taken as part of a promotional campaign to popularize the new building.

This shot became a symbol of the US industrial era, depicting the bravery and diligence of immigrant builders (most of the workers were Irish and Italians). Despite the widespread myth that many workers of that time often worked without insurance, in reality, safety was better organized than it appears in the picture.

The photograph remains one of the most famous in history and is often used as a symbol of fearlessness and determination.