High Steel

The Times sent photographer Damon Winter up the new World Trade Center tower to photograph the men erecting the steel frame; slide show here.

The pictures have a very 1930s feel because the process of building steel-framed skyscrapers has changed very little since it was invented. Cranes lift the steel; men guide it into place; another crew attached the bolts and partially tightens them; the "plumb crew" checks to see that the building is going up straight; and then the bolts are tightened down.

I look forward to getting here. I look forward to working my ass off. I look forward to sweating. And I look forward to finishing this building. I plan on staying all the way to the top.

--High steel worker Christopher Marron