Lunch Atop a Skyscraper

I had a doctor’s appointment last week; my stay in the waiting room was pretty much what you’d expect.

The sound of the latest CNN reports bombarded patrons with the latest crisis. The newscaster was drowned out, occasionally, by the jibber-jabbering of a very chatty lady who spoke incessantly to her taciturn husband. He didn’t attempt to jump into the conversation. She more than made up for his silence.

As fascinating as the witty repartee was, I wasn’t sorry to be plucked from my comfy chair to “come on back.” I was ushered behind the door and down the hall to exam room #2. 

As I was being interviewed by the young nurse, I gazed around the room to find the usual sights – sink and liquid soap, myriad pamphlets and posters, a few spare periodicals. Then, on the wall, I saw something that surprised me because it just didn’t seem to belong.

It was a framed print.

Normally, in a medical office, the décor is fairly standard. A painting on the wall normally falls into some predictable categories. Soothing sea scapes or mountain vistas. Occasionally, you see the obligatory wildlife painting – a cougar, tiger or snow leopard.

Come to think of it, those sound like Apple operating system names…

Anyway, the point is the framed print fell into none of those categories. It was a large version of the iconic photograph: “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper.”

 

You’ve probably seen the picture before. It was snapped during the 1930s as ironworkers put together the infrastructure for the building that would become the RCA building in Manhattan (now the GE building). A group of them posed for the photograph which was taken, actually, 82 years ago this month.

The 11 dudes in the picture are taking their lunch break high above the bustling depression-era city streets below. Some are chatting; others are reading or smoking. They seem to be wrapping up the meal as the pic was taken.

As I sat their examining the photo, I couldn’t help wonder about the story behind the picture. Who were those guys? What were their lives like? (And did any of them fall?). 

I looked online when I got home and I found out background about the picture.  It was almost as fascinating to read about as it was to study while I waited for the doctor.

If the goal behind placing this framed print was to occupy the patients while they waited (patiently), then the outcome was a winner. I spent much of the next 15 minutes thinking about the photo and the men (and mentally sketching out my outline for the blog). 

To tell you the truth, I’m not sure a photo of fellows perilously perched on a building beam has much of a calming effect on patients. I will admit it is a conversation starter.

I’m just glad I wasn’t nervous about the appointment.

JG

Originally posted 9/3/2014