A topping off (or topping out) ceremony is a customary way to celebrate a significant milestone during the construction of a new building—when the final and highest steel beam is put in place—and no, this is not a modern practice. History books tell us that topping off ceremonies date back at least 1,300 years, and possibly further back than that.
In the year 700, Scandinavians were known to top off their completed structures with sheaths of grain, intended for the god Odin’s horse Slepner, in exchange for Odin’s bestowal of good luck for the building and the people who would inhabit it. Across the Atlantic, Native Americans followed a similar tradition, topping off buildings with evergreens to honor the forest spirits, in keeping with their belief that no structure should stand taller than a tree.
Norwegian ironworkers reportedly brought their topping off customs with them when they arrived in America in 1898. During the fall of 1930, the Empire State Building was such a monumental construction project in New York City that it was honored with three separate topping off ceremonies.
In contemporary times here in the United States, construction teams often paint the final steel beam white and then invite people associated with the project—construction team members, project designers, owners, and local dignitaries, among others—to sign the beam with their names and well wishes for the future of the building. Before the final beam is put in place, it is also typically adorned with a small evergreen tree and an American flag. The tree is considered a key symbol in the steel trade, with many believing it signifies the construction project has “reached the sky” safely and without incident, serving as an optimistic sign for the future of the building and its inhabitants.