Girder Collection

Building Emp State Buil
A dizzy perch 350 yards above street level: A New York workman (Carl Russell) engaged on the worlds tallest bulding (at the time), the Empire State Building

The Forth Bridge: Fife Pier. Free cantilever completed and central girder commenced; fixed cantilever not quite completed

Landore Viaduct construction, near Swansea, South Wales
View of construction work on the Landore Viaduct, over the Swansea valley and the River Tawe, on the Great Western Railway, Glamorgan, South Wales

Steel Workers Organizing Comittee. Painting for a poster (never printed), late 1930s, by Ben Shahn
SHAHN: STEEL UNION POSTER. Steel Workers Organizing Comittee. Painting for a poster (never printed), late 1930s, by Ben Shahn

The Tyne Bridge under construction, 23rd February 1928 (b / w photo)
907791 The Tyne Bridge under construction, 23rd February 1928 (b/w photo) by Geddie, James (1879-1944); Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums; eTyne & Wear Archives & Museums; British, out of copyright

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING, 1931. Steelworkers on girders of the Empire State Building, New York City. Photographed by Lewis Hine, 1931

Construction of St Pancras Station, London, c 1867
Travelling Gantry and First Girder of Midland Station St Pancras. This station was completed in 1868, as the London terminus for the Midland Railway. The station was designed by William Barlow

The Coney Island Boardwalk at sunset, Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York City, NY, USA
The Coney Island boardwalk at sunset, with the steel-frame structure of the famous Parachute Jump in the background. Brooklyn, New York City

The Erskine Bridge - a multi span cable-stayed box girder bridge spanning the River Clyde in west central Scotland which opened on July 2, 1971. Date: circa 1972

Fire damage at Alexandra Palace, London. On 10 July 1980 fire destroyed the Alexandra Palace in North London. This photograph is dated 19 July 1980

Girder Train
circa 1928: A traction engine towing a giant girder down Farringdon Street, London, in the early hours of the morning. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Crystal Palace Station, Crystal Palace Parade, Bromley, London, 1955
Crystal Palace Station, Bromley, London, 1955. Empty platforms and canopy of the disused Crystal Palace (High Level) Station, viewed from the footbridge. Arched walls hold up the glass roof

Transporter Bridge, Newport, Wales
Transporter bridge, Newport, Wales. This type of bridge allowed shipping to pass unimpeded and passengers and goods to be transported across a river on a suspended platform

70ft Oval Girder Bridge, Gobbins, Islandmagee - with people on structure. (Location: Northern Ireland: County Antrim: Islandmagee). Date: circa early 1900s

High Level Bridge over the Tyne at Newcastle, built by Robert Stephenson between 1846 and 1849
538629 High Level Bridge over the Tyne at Newcastle, built by Robert Stephenson between 1846 and 1849; (add.info.: High Level Bridge over the Tyne at Newcastle)

Bridge over the river Wye at Chepstow, ca 1885
863316 Bridge over the river Wye at Chepstow, ca 1885; (add.info.: Wrought iron tubular trussed bridge over the river Wye at Chepstow, c1885)

High level bridge over Tyne at Newcastle, 19th century (engraving)
540189 High level bridge over Tyne at Newcastle, 19th century (engraving); (add.info.: Builder: Robert Stephenson 1803-1859. Bowstring Girder: North British Railway)

View of the cranes on the 8th floor of the Empire State Building, May 1930, published by William Edwin Rudge
STC138071 View of the cranes on the 8th floor of the Empire State Building, May 1930, published by William Edwin Rudge, 1931 (pencil on paper) by Bailey

Steel beam being winched up from the truck, to be used in the construction of the Empire State Building
STC138070 Steel beam being winched up from the truck, to be used in the construction of the Empire State Building, published by William Edwin Rudge, 1931 (pencil on paper) by Bailey

The Smithfield Club Cattle Show at the new Agricultural Hall, Islington, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Smithfield Club Cattle Show at the new Agricultural Hall, Islington, [London], 1862. The interior of the building has more than answered all the expectations formed of it;

Ceremony of Scottish Freemasons, 1840-1870. Creator: Unknown
Ceremony of Scottish Freemasons, 1840-1870. Wine and oil are poured onto a stone on which lies corn. The scene takes place on a construction site, with metal girders above

Museum of Science and Art, in Course of Construction, on the Kensington-Gore Estate, 1856. Creator: Unknown
Museum of Science and Art, in Course of Construction, on the Kensington-Gore Estate, [London], 1856. Iron building...purposed to contain the large and valuable collections...belonging to the Dept

Naval stores processing plant under construction, Near Valdosta, Georgia, 1937. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Naval stores processing plant under construction. This type of plant (first one at Jacksonville, Florida, second at Valdosta, Georgia) will probably revolutionize the turpentine industry; in future

The Great Exhibition Building in Hyde Park - Testing the Girders, 1850. Creator: Unknown
The Great Exhibition Building in Hyde Park - Testing the Girders, 1850. This is effected by means of the hydraulic press invented by Mr

The Great Exhibition of 1851 - General View of the Works - (Looking East), 1850. Creator: Unknown
The Great Exhibition of 1851 - General View of the Works - (Looking East), 1850. In the view of the Building Works looking East - which was taken from an elevated position on the south side of

The Great Exhibition Building in Hyde Park - Unloading Girders, 1850. Creator: Unknown
The Great Exhibition Building in Hyde Park - Unloading Girders, 1850. View of...the large crane, by which the cast-iron girders are unloaded from the waggon - one of Pickford's in the present

Great Exhibition of 1851 - Progress of the Building in Hyde Park, 1850. Creator: Unknown
Great Exhibition of 1851 - Progress of the Building in Hyde Park, 1850. The progress of the Crystal Palace for the Great Exhibition, next year

British Grand Prix Preparations
The Red Bull Energy Station under construction. Formula One World Championship, Rd9, British Grand Preparations, Silverstone, England, Tuesday 3 July 2007

Bray's traction-engine drawing a girder...through the streets of London by night... 1862. Creator: Unknown
Bray's traction-engine drawing a girder 74 feet long and weighing twenty tons through the streets of London by night - the monster load passing the Bank of England, 1862

Progress of the International Exhibition Building: ornamentation of roof and railing of... 1862. Creator: Unknown
Progress of the International Exhibition Building: ornamentation of roof and railing of gallery, 1862. Illustration of...that which we have more than once described in detail - namely

International Exhibition - roof of building, 1862. Creator: Unknown
International Exhibition - roof of building, 1862. The International Exhibition of 1862 was a world's fair held from 1 May to 1 November 1862 in South Kensington, London

Opening of the International Exhibition: entrance to the Western Annexe, 1862. Creator: Unknown
Opening of the International Exhibition: entrance to the Western Annexe, 1862. The International Exhibition of 1862 was a world's fair held from 1 May to 1 November 1862 in South Kensington

Paradise Street, Liverpool City Centre, after the Luftwaffe has bombed it in the Blitz. It was hit on 3rd May 1941 Liverpool suffered many casualties in the blitz during World War Two

The Spit Bridge, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
The Spit Bridge - a steel and concrete girder bridge with a bascule lift span across the Middle Harbour, northeast of the central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Our Steel for Australia, from the series Empire Buying Makes Busy Factories (colour litho)
MAN464518 Our Steel for Australia, from the series Empire Buying Makes Busy Factories (colour litho) by Newbould, Frank (1887-1951); Manchester Art Gallery

Chicago Construction
A building under construction on Van Buren Street, Chicago, 30th September 1894. It is being rendered fireproof by placing tiles around the steel frame. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Fatal imprudences, Bohemians employed by the Circus Sidoli who travel to Domodossola go... (colour litho)
2815545 Fatal imprudences, Bohemians employed by the Circus Sidoli who travel to Domodossola go... (colour litho) by Beltrame, Achille (1871-1945); Private Collection; (add.info.: Fatal imprudences)

The solution to a problem (colour litho)
2808810 The solution to a problem (colour litho) by Salvadori, Riccardo (1866-1927); Private Collection; (add.info.: The solution to a problem)

The Eiffel Tower at the Paris Exhibition (engraving)
1041755 The Eiffel Tower at the Paris Exhibition (engraving) by Lanos, Henri (1859-1929); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Eiffel Tower at the Paris Exhibition)

Vauxhall Bridge, 1861. Creator: James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Vauxhall Bridge, 1861

Derrick man, Empire State Building, 1930-31 (gelatin silver print)
492495 Derrick man, Empire State Building, 1930-31 (gelatin silver print) by Hine, Lewis Wickes (1874-1940); Private Collection; Photo eChristies Images; American, out of copyright

The Forth Bridge (engraving)
6016244 The Forth Bridge (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Forth Bridge. Illustration for Engineering, An Illustrated Weekly Journal)

Alternative Preliminary Designs for the Forth Bridge (engraving)
6016227 Alternative Preliminary Designs for the Forth Bridge (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Alternative Preliminary Designs for the Forth Bridge)

The churches that travel (colour litho)
2778111 The churches that travel (colour litho) by Beltrame, Achille (1871-1945); Private Collection; (add.info.: The churches that travel)

The Disappearing Station (Colour Litho)
2783563 The Disappearing Station (Colour Litho) by Beltrame, Achille (1871-1945); Private Collection; (add.info.: The disappearing station)

Steel workers casting girders, 1917 (w / c & bodycolour on paper)
2649297 Steel workers casting girders, 1917 (w/c & bodycolour on paper) by Lacy, Charles John de (c.1860-1936); 29x24.5 cm; Private Collection; eLiss Fine Art; English, out of copyright

The Gates of Pedro Miguel, plate XIX from The Panama Canal by Joseph Pennell
XJF135616 The Gates of Pedro Miguel, plate XIX from The Panama Canal by Joseph Pennell, 1912 (charcoal on paper) (b/w photo) by Pennell, Joseph (1858-1926); Private Collection; American

Empire State Building, New York City, c. 1930 (gelatin silver print)
621927 Empire State Building, New York City, c.1930 (gelatin silver print) by Hine, Lewis Wickes (1874-1940); Private Collection; Photo eChristies Images; American, out of copyright

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"Girder: The Backbone of Construction" From the Landore Viaduct construction near Swansea, South Wales to the iconic Forth Bridge in Fife Pier, girders have played a vital role in shaping our architectural landscape. These steel giants stand tall, supporting the weight of progress and innovation. In late 1930s America, Ben Shahn's painting for the Steel Workers Organizing Committee captured the strength and unity found among those who toiled on these massive structures. Though never printed as a poster, it symbolized their unwavering determination. Dating back to 1867, St Pancras Station in London stands as a testament to girder engineering excellence. Its intricate design showcases how they can seamlessly blend functionality with beauty. The Tyne Bridge under construction on February 23rd, 1928, immortalized in black and white photography captures both the raw power and delicate precision required when erecting such colossal frameworks. Across continents, from Brighton Beach's Coney Island Boardwalk at sunset to New York City's Empire State Building itself - where steelworkers fearlessly walked atop its girders during its construction in 1931 - these structures inspire awe and admiration. Not limited to land-based marvels alone; cable-stayed box girder bridges like the Erskine Bridge spanning Scotland's River Clyde demonstrate that even over waterways, girders provide stability and connectivity. Crystal Palace Station along Crystal Palace Parade witnessed countless commuters passing through its doors since its establishment in 1955. Girders silently bore witness to their journeys while ensuring safe passage above ground level. Transporter Bridge located in Newport, Wales showcased an innovative approach by utilizing girders suspended high above water levels. This unique bridge became an emblem of ingenuity within transportation infrastructure. Finally, standing proudly amidst nature's splendor is Gobbins' 70ft Oval Girder Bridge on Islandmagee.