This photo comes from a series of prints from the National Research Project. The National Research Project on Reemployment Opportunities and Recent Changes on Industrial Techniques was organized in December 1935 as part of the National Research Program of the Works Progress Administration. Its purpose was to inquire, with the cooperation of industry, labor, and government and private agencies, into the extent of recent changes in industrial techniques and to evaluate the effects of these changes on the volume of employment and unemployment.
Workman on the Framework of the Empire State Building
- ca. 1930-1931
Description
This photograph, taken by Lewis Hine in 1930, shows a construction worker on New York City’s Empire State Building. During the 1920s and 1930s, Hine took a number of what he called “work portraits” to document the human contribution to modern industry.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Work Projects Administration.
National Archives Identifier: 518290
Full Citation: 69-RH-4K-1; Photograph of a Workman on the Framework of the Empire State Building; ca. 1930-1931; General Print File of the National Research Project, 1936–1940; Records of the Work Projects Administration, Record Group 69; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/document/workman-empire-state-building/, April 7, 2026]
Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
