It is likely that many of those reading this article have seen in advance the photograph published on October 2, 1932 by the New York Herald Tribune, in which eleven workers have lunch with apparent tranquility on a beam with New York at their feet. The image, named Lunch atop a Skyscraper, was taken during the construction of 30 Rockefeller Plaza on the 69th floor, 240 meters high.
Nine decades later, Rockefeller Center, located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, has opened The Beam to the public, a new attraction that allows you to recreate the iconic snapshot of the Big Apple at the Top of the Rock. Inaugurated at the beginning of this month of December, it defies vertigo with a metal structure that rises and places visitors on the edge of the skyscraper.
Sitting and tied to a replica of the original nine-meter-long steel beam on the same floor and at the same height, the structure rises about 3.5 meters above the observation platform which, after performing a turn of 180 degrees, places the intrepid people at the point where the protagonists of the photograph appeared. From this position, the views of Central Park and Manhattan are spectacular, although very different from those that could be seen 91 years ago.
The experience, which has caused a real sensation among tourists and New Yorkers, is one of the star novelties of the Rockefeller Center remodeling project; an initiative that aims to improve the visit with new incentives that allow you to discover details and unpublished corners of one of the most iconic buildings in the city. Admission to The Beam costs 25 dollars (€23), which must be added to the 40 to 50 dollars (between €37 and €46) of the ticket price to Top of the Rock, the great viewpoint with the best panoramic views of the city. From here you can identify the best-known structures, with the Empire State as the main protagonist. On a clear day, the human eye can glimpse figures on the horizon 128 kilometers away.
Another of the most anticipated novelties that will arrive in the coming months has been baptized as Sky Lift. It is a circular glass platform on the 70th floor, which will elevate visitors above the roof, giving even more spectacular 360º views, if possible.
The photograph that inspired the latest Rockefeller Center attraction is not a fake, although it requires certain nuances. There is no doubt about the place and time in which Lunch on a Skyscraper was taken, although the conditions in which the image was captured are far from what the general public assumes.
In reality, the snapshot was not the result of chance, but was carefully prepared. The workers photographed having lunch did not use any safety system and the image was intended to reflect real working conditions in the United States after the Great Depression. Although it is true that there was some danger in the shot, it was not as risky as it is supposed to be, since a few meters below, there was a completely finished floor. What there is no doubt is that the result more than fulfilled its author's objective.
