TRAGIC SUICIDE.
At the bottom of the Empire State
Building the body of Evelyn Mchale reposes calmly in a Grotesque Bier, Her
Falling Body Punched Into the Top of a Car.
On May Day, just after leaving her
fiancé, 23-year-old Evelyn McHale wrote a note. ‘He is much better off without me … I wouldn’t make a good wife for
anybody’ …
Then she crossed it out.
She went to the observation platform of
the Empire State Building. Through the mist, she gazed at the street, 86 floors
below. Then she jumped.
In her desperate determination, she
leaped clear of the setbacks and hit a United Nations limousine parked at the
curb.
Across the street photography student
Robert Wiles heard an explosive crash.
 |
| Evelyn McHale |
Just four minutes after Evelyn McHale’s
death, Wiles got this picture of death’s violence and its composure.
Interesting Fact: Since
the Empire State Building was constructed in 1931 some 36 people have jumped
from the building, including 17 from the 86th floor observation deck. Evelyn
was the 12th suicide from the building and the sixth to clear all of the
setbacks. She was one of five people in a three week period to attempt suicide
from the observation deck.
In
response a 10-ft wire mesh fence was installed and guards were trained to spot
potential jumpers. After the barrier was installed people just jumped from
other parts of the building, usually from office windows.
