Some people can go up as high as the sky and they don’t think twice about it.  On high ladders, cranes, beams on high buildings or climbing up a soaring communications tower these guys never flinch.

Some of the best photos of this behaviour were taken during the construction of the Empire State Building in New York City.  Construction of the 102 story building was completed in 14 months.  An amazingly fast time for such a giant building.

Excavation of the site began on January 22, 1930, and construction on the building itself started symbolically on March 17—St.Patrick’s Day—per Al Smith’s influence as Empire State, Inc. president. The project involved 3,400 workers, mostly immigrants from Europe, along with hundreds of Mohawk iron workers, many from the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal. According to official accounts, five workers died during the construction. Governor Smith’s grandchildren cut the ribbon on May 1, 1931.

Some photos of the construction workers way way up:

Must be waiting for more girders.

Looks like they ordered out.  No pizza back then so this must be cookies.

And today workers still go very high to construct very high structures and for maintenance.

The photo below shows workers doing maintenance on the highest communications tower in the United States.  It is a TV tower in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  These guys went up 2,200 feet.  That is a 1,000 feet higher than the Empire State Building.

Workers on the Hoover Dam Bridge Bypass: