‘Lunch Atop a Skyscraper’ Photograph Immortalized in Bobblehead Form

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum has unveiled a limited edition “Lunch atop a Skyscraper” bobblehead.

It’s based on the iconic black-and-white photograph taken on September 20, 1932, of 11 ironworkers sitting on a steel beam of the RCA Building 850 feet above the ground during the construction of the Rockefeller Center in New York City.

The special edition bobblehead scene is being released to coincide with the anniversary of when the picture was taken. The photo was first published in the Sunday supplement of the New York Herald Tribune on October 2, 1932, with the caption: “Lunch atop a Skyscraper.”

The photo has been called “one of the most recognizable photos of the 20th century” and “a piece of American history.” Sitting precariously on a steel beam 850 feet in the air, the 11 ironworkers are casually eating lunch while having carefree conversations.

Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 1,932 — the year the picture was taken — and they are available exclusively through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store.

The bobbleheads, which are expected to ship in January, are $100 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order.

Earlier this year, PetaPixel reported on a new book that explores the enduring mystery surrounding the image: who took it?

In Lunch on a Beam, Christine Roussel sets out what is known and still uncertain about the famous photograph, particularly the question of who actually took it and how it was produced.

She explains that the image was part of a larger coordinated Rockefeller Center publicity effort in the early 1930s, involving multiple press photographers working for agencies that supplied striking images to newspapers and magazines. Original assignment records have not survived, and the image cannot be conclusively attributed to any single photographer. But she notes that three photographers from that day — Charles Ebbets, Thomas Kelley, and William Leftwich — are known to have been present. However, only Ebbets’s family has claimed he took the iconic shot, relying mainly on a handwritten note from his wife as supporting evidence.

“We are thrilled to unveil this replica bobblehead scene replicating the ‘Lunch atop a Skyscraper’ photograph taken in New York this week in 1932,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar says.

“Called the ‘most famous picture of a lunch break in New York history,’ the iconic image has become a symbol of the city’s and country’s resilience and determination. This one-of-a-kind bobblehead scene will be a valuable keepsake for both New Yorkers and fans of the famous photo.”

You can buy the limited edition bobblehead here.

Additional reporting by Pesala Bandara.