Sandhog working under the East River

National Museum of American History

Object Details

photographer
Mydans, Carl
Description
In 1939 LIFE magazine sent Mydans to the East River in New York City to document the progress of the Midtown Tunnel construction. His photo essay (April 3, 1939) gives us a glimpse of the dangerous working conditions underground and the men who endured this undertaking.
Sandhogs worked in tunnels 100 feet below the surface of a river, where compressed air doubled or tripled the atmospheric pressure on their bodies and where the noise of drilling and blasting was multiplied as it bounced back from the iron tunnel walls.
Location
Currently not on view
1939
ID Number
2005.0228.054
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.054
Object Name
photograph
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 14 in x 9 1/2 in; 35.56 cm x 24.13 cm
place made
United States: New York, New York City
See more items in
Work and Industry: Photographic History
Photography
Carl Mydans
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_1303318
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-ecf2-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
Sandhog working under the East River, NYC
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