The immense pieces of steel were handled and assembled by various gangs of [L3 427 / steelworkers] - as many as 300 men. All of the [L3 303 / support services] they needed were provided including food, water and even medical care.
Working below ground level were the [G 08 / foundation] men, who drove the [G 12 / piers] through the [G 02 / bedrock] and placed the [G 03 / columns] on the [I 008 / foundation].
The derrick men operated the hoists that lifted the massive steel beams into place. The hoisting gang on the ground attached cables to the piles of beams. The hoist engineer, taking his signals from the bellman, then controlled the cable to lift the load. Another gang steered and shifted the load into place. Connecters then brought the beams and columns together, ready for the riveters to go to work.
A total of 16 electric derricks were used in construction. These were equipped with a new invention - automatic hoists. Such hoists were added because of an accident that occurred during the construction of the [P Slide 18 / Chrysler Building]. A derrick operator was knocked unconscious by a flying brick and had dropped his bundle of steel. The automatic hoists prevented this from occurring. Even so, 14 men were killed in various [L3 428 / accidents] during construction.
[L3 304 / Riveting gangs] worked in well-organized teams, like acrobats in the circus. The man known as the heater (or passer) heated the rivets in a forge, then tossed them to the upper floor. There the rivets were scooped out of the air by the catcher, who used a tin bucket. The bucker-up jammed the red-hot rivet into a hole in the steel and held it there while the riveter, or gun-man, drove the bolt home with a pneumatic gun. The rivets were carried to the gang by bolt boys, many of whom dreamed one day of joining the team.
After the columns and beams were in place, a plumber-up would drop a bob to measure their straightness. Finally, a safety man climbed on every part of the structure looking for loose boards, stray wires or forgotten tools.
In addition to the tradesmen - carpenters, bricklayers, electricians, plumbers, heating and ventilating men - there were inspectors, foremen, checkers, clerks and even men with watering cans to settle the dust.
The entire steel structure took a mere 25 weeks to build.
