Bankers Trust Building Construction Photographs 1910-11
Photo #B17465
Photograph courtesy Weiskopf & Pickworth LLP
 

Topping out--the ritual of placing a pine bough on the uppermost member of a recently completed structure--is usually an occasion for a photograph and a bit of festivity. The steel frame is has not been completed in this photo, but the ironworkers posed for the photographer hired by the contractor or owner to document construction.