Lunch on a Skyscraper-whj2

[jimihendrixfan2008]

I hate heights with a passion. Mad props to these fellas.

[bcakapinky]

This was back during the Depression when 25% of the country was unemployed and grateful to have ANY job. People had to do things that were extremely dangerous to feed their families

[littleweloosmom]

This gave me a panic attack just watching.

[snoop11080]

americans use to have balls. to bad most of us are a but of pussy now. we cant get shit done by ourselves.

[hanky45]

balz of steel

[DrJunthor]

I guess they always had it in the back of their mind that if they did fall....they probably wouldn't feel a thing.

[jtpf87]

some of these were done in a studio and then super imposed to make it look real, it is well documented, the second picture is 100% FAKE.

[B789c]

1:10 woo they slept on the beams, with no safety ropes or anything. these awesome bastards should be in the Guiness book of records or some shit like that.

[PavelSoviak1]

Brave and heroic..thanks for the great post

[mojofuel62]

For many, in this era, to not work was to die of hunger. To not work was to have one's children starve. These men who risked their lives were brave, to be sure, but the alternative by which I mean begging, soup kitchens, starvation, suicide made performing such a job such as constructing these buildings reaching ever heavenward seem not to be such a bad alternative. Not so bad at all.

[leoniscoolful]

God these guys arent afraid of anything

[senikle]

great clip!! loved it!! but it's really depressing that a twinkee like bill gates owns these. doesn't he have enough? isn't it enough that we have to spend money every 3-5 years to replace things he builds to last just that time??? what a flippin' con artist and pig.

[pfizzbones]

@senikle Well, Bill Gates started out with a dream, then made it a reality, with hard work as well. "Doesn't he have enough?" You are talking Marxism. He deserves everything he has worked for. And because of his work, he has millions of employees around the world that he has provided a job. Amongst the many charitable donations he gives, that number in the hundreds of millions of dollars. So I say, you go after your dream too....and stop bitching about the ones who have earned it.

[senikle]

@pfizzbones I appreciate your point of view and I respect it. I'm not necessarily a Marxist - however, I am quite tired of a very small fraction of humans on this earth taking ownership and controlling the rest of us. And just for the record, I did achieve/earn my dreams, and now I'm working on the second installment of dreams (being realized as I write) . Moreover, because I have indeed achieved those dreams, I am entitled to bitch about whatever and whomever I'd like. (First Amendment...)

[senikle]

@pfizzbones I just visited your site. Here's a quote "Just someone standing with the principles of our Founding Fathers. Hoping that others will follow the only proven path to prosperity." How interesting that you choose to stand with men that hailed the concept of liberty, yet were shameless as slave owners. You hypocrite! Is this an example of your only path to prosperity? I hope you received my other reply to your comments... Now I'll bitch about you and people like you.

[Pedy1968]

Wonderful pics and music!!!

[Reubenhubert]

I salute those workers who built the great skyscrapers. My stomach was doing flips every time the picture changed. I can easily walk on beams narrower than the ones these men were on IF the beams are on the ground. Put me any distance in the air and fear of falling takes away my sense of balance.

[italobambino43]

What an incredible era to have lived in, the possibilities of America were abound! Nothing impossible. This nation was built on the sweat of their brows. I am wondering if some of the photo's were taken from the Cities Services building ? It was constructed around the same time as the Chrysler and Empire State Building. Love this post, great music selection as well.

[olebaj]

construction of sky scrapers at the beginning of the century meant lot of deaths

[JeffersA1]

Amazing photographs and beautiful haunting music. Stunning.

[Movielunatic]

Take a look at my video production. There you will find trains, the Finnish army, the beautiful scenery of Finland, folk music, sailing ship Sedov, martial arts, sports, art exhibitions, animals, animation, a lot of Super 8 films and other interesting stuff!

[colliecandle]

I saw this photo in a transport cafe I once went in for breakfast - it was a poster sized

picture, after which seeing it, I had to leave my food and walk out ! Thats how scared Iam of heights!!!!!

[1979jondam]

crazy 

[lander4545]

I got dizzy watching this and almost fell of my computer chair! :D

[fxc2]

Eeew. Imagine the wind up there.

[RodentKing1]

Before political correctness . Today we are upto our necks with lazy bums that have no pride.

[DarkNaomi]

Ha, I always see cartoons or old black and white videos of construction workers eating their lunches on top of the buildings they construct. That's pretty amazing. Aren't they scared they might slip and fall down? I'm not a fan of heights, but just wow. Nice music too. :)

[magnusalexa]

i thought i and my mate where brave, not using a harness at 130 foot while demolishing a building and smokin a joint, jumping too and from roof to a chery picker, wish i was doing it now rather than writing for a living.

[LookingForPartyy]

really mens !

[karassso]

super video how meny men wos runing down in this work

[spoonraker1]

Very well put together picture video. This gets a 5 star rating from me!

[tylermstrauss14]

fuck england

[al4773]

just to let you know that england is the greatest country on the planet but i suppose your one might be up there somewhere

[BINNY128]

I have great balance and would be able to do this job no problem. Nooooo problem!!

[JohnnyCreampuff]

These guys certainly had to be cut from a certain mold to do this. Obviously this was long before OSHA Safety Standards came into play. I'm sure that today's skyscraper workers would never walk out on a crossbeam some 700 feet above the ground without a safety harness attached!

[spudmourph73]

amazing men, kinda make me ashamed to call my self a man, these fellas, real men, have recently been to the top of the empire state and the rockafeller , breathtaking heights, i could hardly look over the edge, what a coward!, new york and its people, greatest in the world, god bless america, greatest country on the planet!

[digbycurrents]

It's not about being brave or being a coward. Some people's brains are just wired differently. they don't register fear concerning heights. They're not brave, it's just that they don't experience the same signals within their brains.

[Box0rz]

@digbycurrents Yeah, I heard they had many native americans and Finns building because they didn't fear heights for some reason.

[digbycurrents]

I'd argue that someone whio is scared of heights is brave by going up the Empire State Building whereas someone who doesn't experience fear, isn't brave at all.

[spudmourph73]

2 good comments, you got me thinking now, maybe i more brave then i realise!

thanks.

[freedomland11]

I agree with you Bro!! these men are what men and courage is all about...I would be proud to marry one of them..I could imagine how there wives could've felt every morning, not knowing if that was the last day for him =(

[rattlers678]

not courage, just not having the brains to strap on to somthing.

[joanal12]

i just lol'D at you moron

[LORDGODSIRALEXFERGIE]

BillJ - kudos, dude! Brilliant compilation and great choice of music. caught the mood of the era perfectly.

[jof677]

Local 229 San Diego!!!!!!!!!!!!

[aimiie07]

It made me feel sick just watching that, haha, i reali dont know how they could do that, but they did a great job tho! :D xx

[BEEFYBAYONET]

I know what you mean. I hate heights and try my best to combat that fear but this is my worst nightmare!

[MurderMostFoul]

When you say the safety precautions were a little strange..

were there any?

any ropes or nets or anything?

[lowprofile164]

that is insane... could shit like cranes even get that high to build them structures nowadays?

[dkstryker]

great pictures. very moving becuze all of those workers in the pics loved being up away from the world and at the same time they were puttin food on the tables for there families cuz it was a rough era.

[smellyady]

how did the guy at 1:18 get there

[billj10182008]

I'm not a construction worker but I assume he used a belt rope and climbed up.

[iw2198]

@billj10182008 That guy climbed the column. Search '401 column climbing' and you should find something on it.

[coltsuperocean10]

@smellyady superman took him!!

[coltsuperocean10]

@smellyady superman took him!!

[alphadogg1074]

@smellyady the guy at 1:18 got there by column climbing....all ironworkers do it..basically they grip the edge, lean back and scale up the beam like a ladder..

[rockstar2217]

@smellyady he climbed the column

[nosleeplisa]

I get vertigo just watching it!

thanks

[whastup]

ty for vid

[iamatube1]

love these pics. Great vid 5*

[24pepperhi]

Wow I wonder how many people fell off while making that building.

[brunettechocha]

It is said that 5 workers died during the construction of the Empire State and none in the construction of the Chrysler building. Both build in 1929 and till today NYC's 2 tallest buildings. Based on those two, the #s are very low given the height and amount of workers, truly impressive. But imagine, one only needs a fall from 5 floors to die and such buildings are the story of all of NYC. So all throwout, I don't know.

[24pepperhi]

5 floors? I would imagine only 3 floors could kill you. Or at least really damage you.

[brunettechocha]

Well, yeah... I simply mean from a short edifice.

[AngieRiddle]

Just for watching I felt dizzy! Great pictures!!

[billj10182008]

Glad you enjoyecd it. I'm not a great lover of heights so I can't image these people working everyday doing this. I only wish I would have better rsolution photos so the pan and zoom would have felt more natural. If you have a chance I'd like to hear your comment on my Postcard from Columbus, same idea but not the dizzing heights

[billj10182008]

I'm not sure if you'll get this reply or not as I've been unsuccesful in trying to post answers to other's questions. I guess if you don't have a job you'll do almost anything but not for me. I can't tell if these workers were of Indian backgrounds as supposedly they have no fear of heights