Topping out
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Topping out is a ceremony done when the last beam is placed at the top of a building. Common in England and Germany, its origins are obscure. In the United States when a skyscraper was completed, the last girder to be hoisted was painted white and signed by all the workmen involved. A leafy tree branch and the US flag were tied to it. Toasts were drunk and sometimes the workmen were treated to a meal. In other buildings the ceremony focused on the bedding of the last block of masonry or brick. The ceremony is akin to the practice of placing a newspaper, coins etc. under the foundation stone of a building.
It is similar to ship naming and launching ceremonies and probably of similar antiquity, and was perhaps done to placate the gods and to shield the building from harm.
The topping out beam can be signed by the ironworker crew, or by local dignitaries depending on the importance of the building. Ironworkers may take this as an opportunity to publicize their union local. The beam can be signed on the ground before it "flies" -- before it is craned up into place.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Robinson, John V (2001). "The 'topping out' traditions of the high-steel ironworkers". Western Folklore, Fall 2001.
