Cool But So Dangerous

From Lewis Hine’s series of photos of the Empire State Building in construction, “Connecting the beams” from 1931:

As always with Hine, this is a fantastic picture regardless of the content. But the content is pretty good, too. The two men are literally riding a beam as it is being positioned by a derrick so that the steel worker on the right can start the connection of that beam to the adjoining column. The fellow on the left is likely a rigger, there to disconnect the cabling and hook after the beam is temporarily fixed in place. The steel worker is communicating with the derrick operator via hand gestures – walkie-talkies were still some years in the future – because the beam has to be lifted slightly and swung to the left to get to the waiting connection pieces at the column.

A few notes on the steel we’re seeing. The background suggests we’re near the top of the building, but could be anywhere from the typical layouts at the 70th to 80th floors and nearby to the wacky spire above the 86th. The beam and column are quite large, and are probably at the core of the building; the connections of this beam and the one that will be on the opposite (right) side of the column are moment connections with top and bottom flange connections in addition to the beam-web shear connection. Those connection pieces at funny angles at the top of the column are not for steel at funny angles – they’re simply loosely bolted to the column splice plates for transportation, to be aligned and riveted later on. I think – not certain but most of the way there – that those are top-flange connections for the beam that will be coming towards us from the column and its counterpart that will be going away from us: those beams have stiffened bottom seat connections for shear, but you can see the future-rivet holes in the column web for a top piece to complete the moment connection.

I think the steel worker is the same one Hine made famous with his photo “Icarus, high up on Empire State“, more commonly known as “Sky Boy.” It’s possible that there were a bunch of good-looking men with tousled hair and an aversion to shirts running around the Empire State site, but I think it’s the same guy.

Finally, does anyone want to count violations of modern OSHA standards? Two men riding a crane-hung beam with no fall protection, and no PPE other than gloves. For that matter, what was Hine standing on? Bare steel?