Primary school pupils recreate iconic New York picture
It is one of the most iconic photographs of all time. Now the 'Lunch atop a Skyscraper' black and white image snapped in New York in 1932 has been given a Brummie twist.
The original picture shows 11 construction workers eating and smoking 69 floors up sat on a beam on the 30 Rockefeller Centre.
The 2016 version features youngsters in hard hats and high-vis jackets from Billesley Primary School in Birmingham.
And while the original shot saw the men perched on the beam around 250m above the ground, the youngsters were in fact sitting on the beam which was just one metre off the floor, surrounded by crash mats below.
The New York skyline background was added afterwards.
The picture was taken by construction company Thomas Vale, who are currently working on the refurbishment and extension of Billesley Primary.
Thomas Vale staff thought getting children involved in the photo was a good way to get them engaged with the construction work going on around them.
The company is delivering the improvements to Billesley Primary on behalf of Birmingham City Council, through the Constructing West Midlands Framework.
The school is gaining a new assembly hall, kitchen and disabled toilets.
Work on the school in Trittiford Road includes the demolition of an old air raid shelter and caretaker store to make way for the new buildings and to create extra parking as the school prepares to grow from a two to a three-form entry institution.
The idea for the image came from Steve Watson, senior manager at Thomas Vale. He said he wanted to get the children involved in the construction process and make it fun for them.
The original 1930s photo of the workers eating lunch, sharing banter and lighting cigarettes is one of the world's most reproduced although there is some debate over how impromptu it was.
A second image has emerged showing the workers lying down on the girder.
