What It Was Like to Catch Red-Hot Rivets 1,000 Feet Above New York

In 1930, the steel frame of the Empire State Building climbed about four and a half floors a week. Its joints were fastened with red-hot rivets, each one heated in a small forge on wooden planks, thrown through the open air, and caught in a tin can by a man standing on a bare beam. He had no harness, no net and no hard hat. The men on the steel earned about $15 a day. When the builders were asked how many workers had died, they said five. Other counts said 14. One went as high as 42. This is what it was like to catch red-hot rivets 1,000 feet above New York: the four-man rivet gang, the heater's cherry-red forge, the catcher's can, Lewis Hine swinging out over Fifth Avenue in a basket, the race against the Chrysler Building, and the climb to the mooring mast at 1,250 feet. Eleven things the job took, counted down to the very top of the steel, plus the truth behind "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper," the legend that Mohawk ironworkers feel no fear, and which death toll the records actually support. If you'd rather hear about the men on the beams than the men at the ribbon-cutting, subscribe to Hazard Pay. And tell us in the comments: how much would someone have to pay you to stand on that beam and catch the next rivet? Disclaimer: This video is made for educational and historical commentary purposes. All materials used in this video are used in accordance with the fair use doctrine (Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act) for purposes such as commentary, criticism, teaching and research, and do not infringe on any copyright. Some visuals are AI-generated reconstructions made for illustration and may not reflect every historical detail exactly. #EmpireStateBuilding #Ironworkers #NewYorkHistory #1930s #History