The building under construction in the film is the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building (also known historically as the Manhattan Company Building and currently known as 40 Wall Street or the Trump Building—not Trump Tower, which was completed in 1983 and is situated several miles to the north at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 56th Street).

The Manhattan Company Building is a 923-foot-tall skyscraper designed in the neo-Gothic style by the architect H. Craig Severance with the assistance of Yasuo Matsui. The form of the building, like that of many NYC skyscrapers of this period, owes much to the 1916 Zoning Resolution, which limited the height and volume of new buildings in order to ensure the availability of natural light and the free flow of air to neighboring structures and on the street. The structure occupies the entirety of its site at the ground level, while the upper floors of the tower taper in a series of setbacks, culminating in a pyramid-shaped spire of lead-coated copper.[1]

Construction on the building began in May 1929 and was completed in less than a year. The concrete foundations and structural steel frame were finished in the first six months, after which the exterior masonry cladding of brick, limestone and terra-cotta was applied at the rate of one floor per day. To accomplish this feat, 2,300 laborers worked in three shifts for all 24 hours of the day.[2]

Part of the reason for the intense speed of construction--beyond financial pressures--was an ongoing competition in New York City at the time among architects and builders for the title of the world's tallest building. While the Manhattan Company Building was rising, the Chrysler Building was simultaneously under construction on 42nd Street. In the end, the Chrysler building with its shining spire managed to snag the coveted title, but its hold on the prize was short-lived. The much-taller Empire State Building was completed just a few months later.

The race to complete these buildings meant that what few safety regulations existed at the time were often ignored. There was no requirement at the time for harnesses, safety cordons or nets. A 19th-century law necessitated the installation of wooden planks over an excavated site, but this was no protection for those working hundreds of feet above. Organizations like the Building Trades Employers Association collaborated with workers’ unions to minimize the costly interruptions caused by construction site accidents. Still, foremen were told to expect one worker death for each floor of a building above the fifteenth.[3]

Without comprehensive mandates at the local, state or federal level as to the regulation of protective equipment or the provision of workers’ compensation in the case of injury or death, there was no compelling legal reason for builders to ensure the safety of their workers. High immigration to the New York City metropolitan area meant a steady supply of new and capable construction laborers. Many of the those who worked on the high-steel beams also came from the Native-American Mohawk people. Workers were drawn by wages that were about twice what was offered for other forms of manual labor. But the extra pay came with much risk. It’s estimated about 40 percent of skyscraper construction workers suffered a serious or fatal injury.[4]

Sources:

[1] New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. "Manhattan Company Building," December 12, 1995.

[2] “Bank Building Speeded: Observation Tower at 40 Wall St. to Be 845 Feet Up.” New York Times: Nov 17, 1929.

[3] Neal Bascomb. Higher: a Historic Race to the Sky and the Making of a City. New York: Broadway Books, 2004.

[4] Jim Rasenberger. High Steel: the Daring Men Who Built the World's Greatest Skyline. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.