Rivets in U.S. Structures

(Picture: Three workers installing rivets in the construction of the Empire State Building in 1931, from the Lewis Hine collection at the NYPL.)

Rivets in the metal structures now seems archaic and from other times. However, rivets were extensively used for metal structure in the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th. The use of high-strength bolts displaced the rivets in the second half of the century and nowadays rivets are no longer in use.

In USA, and specially in New York, rivets were used until the 1960s even though high-strength bolts were already available. A proof of that is the original specifications of a 1961 building in the Flatiron District of New York on which I am currently working. The specification reads “All shop connections to be riveted or welded”. There is no mention about bolts, that gives a sense of how rooted rivets were into the common practice to erect structures.

For the ones that are not familiar with the arduous process of riveting here a short video of riveting in the Empire State Building. (The riveting process starts in the fourth minute.) As you can see it required a worker to heat the rivets (fires in construction sites are never a good idea), two workers to install them and most importantly a good catcher (see picture).