Beginning a Skyscraper

A film clip shot for the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company captures the foundation excavation for Macy’s department store in Herald Square, New York, in which we see dozens of diggers wielding pickaxes, smoke, dust, and horse-drawn carriages. Although the film’s title suggests it is a future skyscraper, the still-popular Macy’s has only twelve floors. (Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival)