Archivist Christine Roussel has written a terrific new book about the background and identification of the faces in an iconic Depression-era photo: "Lunch on a Beam" (shown on the cover, above).
Being a native New Yorker, I was riveted (pun intended) by this photograph taken high in the sky in the heart of Manhattan, an image so familiar and yet associated with so many questions. Even the Wikipedia page may not have all the answers dug out by Christine Roussel, though it has some other wonderful photos from the time and place.
Where, when, why, and who?
Where? Atop Rockefeller Center's RCA building under construction. This complex was being constructed despite the incredible Depression-era financial collapse that took so many jobs away. This was way, way before my time, but many decades after the complex opened, I loved visiting Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree lighting, to see the high-kicking Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, to enjoy the dazzling skyline visible from the highest floors.
When? The photo was taken in the fall of 1932 (exact date investigated and documented by the archivist). Maybe late September, maybe early October. And actually, there could have been more than one version of this photo, according to Roussel.
Why? One word: publicity. The developer of Rockefeller Center needed to drum up enthusiasm for leasing the new building's commercial space. It was, after all, a business venture requiring enormous investment and therefore requiring a revenue stream at completion. Photos like this kept the project in the public eye and generated a lot of conversation.
Who? So many theories have been advanced about the identities of the men shown lunching and chatting on this beam. A lot of families heard stories passed down about an iron-worker or riveter or other worker who was on the job site and was maybe in the photo. Were they true?
Digging deeper to learn more
With amazing access to Rockefeller Center archives and other major archives, the author offers a deep dive into the background of this photo and her years-long efforts to verify the names of the photographer and the men on the beam. No part of the photo is unexamined and explained in her quest to understand how this well-known image came about and who is pictured. Roussel even writes about who is not in the photo and why, social history that informs the story.
She uses the same techniques used by family historians to analyze family legends and assertions about who may have been on that beam. She listens carefully to descendants, asks questions, examines any evidence (such as wardrobe, face/head similarites, published info, and contemporaneous photos), and researches additional documents (union records for instance) in her quest to verify decades-old claims that an ancestor is in the picture.
No spoilers
In the end, the author is able to identify 10 of the 11 men. For each, she explains not only her reasoning but also provides the names of others who, with "less evidence," are proposed to be that man. Although she does not feel confident enough in her identification to name the eleventh man, she does include the names of folks who were proposed to be him, "without much evidence."
Even if you're not a New Yorker, you've probably seen this photo and wondered about the men. If you want to learn more, I recommend this book at the fascinating intersection of Depression-era history and the lore of many families whose ancestors might have been there.
