1950s

Construction workers, 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, June 5, 1959

The press release accompanying this photograph explained:
Hard-hatted construction workers take their stand atop nine layers of their own huge handiwork--a new skyscraper being erected in the heart of Manhattan's financial district. While a photographer focused on them from across the street, the 1,223 workers massed on the structure of The Chase Manhattan Bank's new building. Figured at the cost of idle workers and machines for half an hour, the models' fee for the group amounted to $10,000. When completed in 1963, the giant edifice will house 15,000 office workers.

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