Ancient elevators such as Archimedes' typically consisted of a wooden platform or box drawn by hemp ropes through a vertical open shaft and powered by men or animals operating a capstan. These devices were used primarily to lift heavy loads such as water or building materials.
Read MoreAlex Begin of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan loved visiting the downtown J.L. Hudson store in Detroit as a child with his parents. The highlight for him was the over 50 elevators that serviced the 33 levels located on Woodward Avenue. Begin loved watching the elevator operators delivering patrons to their desired floors.
Read MoreRecently our team was contacted to inspect a 19th century building where the new owner had found a hand-powered (pull-rope) elevator. Completely in tact and fully preserved complete with original rope and pulley, platform and counterweight system along with painted on data tags, it was immediately identified as an Otis-Fensom Elevator from the 1890’s.
Read MoreBuilt on the very edge of a cliff overlooking the a 76m (250ft) drop, overlooking the surrounding city, the 611 room 80-metre-tall (260 ft) was the tallest buildings in the entire province of Quebec. To shuttle passengers and their luggage through the 18 storey building monolith, architects installed three gated manually operated elevators in the main lobby. More were added during two major expansions to the hotel, one in 1908–09, and another in 1920–24.
Read MoreElevator design is not something many people think of. Even professional architects, urban planners and designers overlook their significance to modern buildings and cities as a whole. Over the past decade our team of vertical transportation specialists has worked to elevate the narrative around these little spaces in a big way.
Read MoreThe Bradbury Building is an architectural landmark located at 304 South Broadway at West 3rd Street in downtown Los Angeles, California. Built in 1893, the five-story office building is best known for its extraordinary skylit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, and their ornate ironwork
Read MoreDig in to 2,500 years of vertical living through a storybook, with New York Times archives and NFB of Canada from the biblical Tower of Babel to the tenement buildings of New York. The film is narrated by singer-songwriter Feist.
Read MoreIt is on display in Dineen Building, which is home to the Dineen Coffee shop (@DineenCoffee) in downtown Toronto, Canada.
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