Barbara Johnston Photography

Men of Steel

  • Ironworkers begin their day at sunrise as the crane hoists them in the man basket approximately 774 feet above street level to the 51st floor.
  • Sunrise
  • Ironworkers walk on an interior beam on the 47th floor of the Comcast Center.
  • An ironworker climbs a column before connecting a perimeter beam to the 54th over 800 feet above street level.
  • As the crane hoists a 13-foot tower section, ironworkers prepare to transfer the load onto the crane’s trolley beam. They were working with a small crew that installed five tower sections, raising the crane above 900 feet.
  • Comcast Tower
  • Ironworkers begin their day at sunrise as the crane hoists them in the man basket to the 51st floor.
  • Almost 800 feet above street level, an ironworker waits for the crane to deliver a beam.
  • The {quote}signal man{quote} for the raising gang communicates with the crane operator above.
  • Ironworker directs the crane operator below.
  • An ironworker guides a steel beam into place on the 55th floor of the Comcast Tower.
  • When the 57-story Comcast Center, designed by Robert A.M. Stern is completed, it will eclipse the 945 foot One Liberty Place, becoming the tallest building in Philadelphia. On the right is the crane's 1400 lbs. iron load ball and hook above the 47th floor of the skyscraper.
  • A third-year apprentice, guides a steel beam into place on the 43rd floor. He is tied off on a column, approximately 638 feet above 18th Street, where a motorist passes.
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  • Ironworker prepares to move a beam on the 46th floor of the Comcast Center.
  • An ironworker walk s on an interior beam on the 47th floor of the Comcast Center.
  • Ironworkers take a morning break.
  • An ironworkers' shadow is cast against the building’s cement core as he guides a beam.
  • Irionworker prepares to connect a beam to the crane's steel cable sorting hooks.
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  • Ironworkers shelter against the wind along the sunny east wall of the cement core on the 53rd floor during their morning break.
  • Ironworker sits on the crane's trolley beam as he waits for a 13-foot tower section. The ironworkers were installing five tower sections, raising the crane to 925 feet.
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  • At sunrise under a blue tarp, an ironworker uses a torch to preheat a joint to 350 degrees on a 15-ton girder before welding. A small crew of welders took turns working 12-hour shifts for over 100 continuous hours to complete the job of welding the joints on two transfer girders. Each girder came in two pieces, weighing 15 and 19.5 tons, which were erected on south side of the 55th floor of the Comcast Center. The joints on the two girders needed to remain at 350 degrees and kept dry through the duration of the welding.
  • From a perimeter beam at approximately 842 feet above street level an ironworker releases the column pin on the top of a 34-foot column to free it from the crane's hook.
  • View of Philadelphia's skyline from the Ben Franklin Bridge with the Comcast Center under construction. It took approximately 9,200 pieces of steel to complete the building's structural framework.The largest girder was 90,000 lbs., (45 tons) and the total tonnage was approximately 12,500.
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  • Ironworkers prepare to connect a perimeter beam on the 57th floor of the Comcast Center. Here they are working approximately 876 feet above street level.
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