Corbis celebrates the 80th anniversary of its ”Lunch atop a Skyscraper” photograph today. The photo agency have put together a microsite providing the story behind the image additional images from the Corbis archives.
Taken on September 20, 1932, the shot captures the true spirit of New York in the 1930s. The world-famous, black and white photograph was taken during the construction of the RCA Building (later renamed the GE Building in 1986), which is part of Rockefeller Center. Captured by photographer Charles C. Ebbets, the image first appeared in the New York Herald Tribune on October 2, 1932.
The original negative is part of Corbis’ Bettmann Collection and is stored in a temperature-controlled facility under Pennsylvania’s Iron Mountain. This six-mile squared storage facility was carved into the limestone bedrock to ensure optimum storage conditions and is home to over 20 million Corbis images. “Lunch atop a Skyscraper” is consistently recognized as one of Corbis’ most popular historic images.
“We are proud to celebrate such a landmark anniversary for this image,” said Ken Johnston, chief historian and archivist for Corbis. “‘Lunch atop a Skyscraper’ is a piece of American history and it’s truly an honor to have an original negative in our archive.”
Get the experience here – you may want to turn your speakers down first!
