The practice of "topping out" a new building can be traced to the ancient Scandinavian religious rite of placing a tree atop a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits displaced in its construction. Long an important component of timber frame building, it migrated initially to England and Northern Europe, thence to the Americas.
NIBCA Board and AGC representatives on Topping Day. Location is unknown.
Photo courtesy of Midway Village Museum