Up: The History of the Elevator 

As a couple of viewers have noted, the London Colosseum was based on the Roman Pantheon, not the Greek Parthenon. I am sorry for the error.

The history of elevators has had its ups and downs.

I swear the history guy could make anything interesting.

Most city firehouses have a fire fighter that is nicknamed Otis. The “Otis’s” are familiar with elevator mechanics and carry override/master keys and are the go to person during elevator emergencies.

There I was, dozing off out of boredom in history classes in high school. And here I am today, binge watching history made interesting. Developing interest is key in teaching stuff. Thank you!

As a professional musician and record producer, we used to say: "You know you've made it when you hear your tune in an elevator".

And this is why The History guy is awesome on so many levels

I'm old enough to remember department store elevators that announced the various items at each stop.

I’m impressed when he mentioned the Shard building in London he referred to its elevators as “lifts”. Nice switch in nomenclature.

Thanks for an interesting subject. My father worked for Otis Elevator from 1940 until 1979 with a 2 year break serving on a RCN Korvette from 1943 until 1945 during the Second World War. He worked his way up from draftsman to the one of the youngest plant works managers at 28 at the Hamilton Ontario Otis Elevator plant (the original Otis Elevator factory was based in Yonkers, NY). In the 1960's he was promoted and transferred to Otis corporate HQ in New York City in the International Division. He retired from Otis at 55 in 1979 as Vice President of Corporate Production. He passed in 1982 at 58 years young. I also worked for Otis Elevator from 1980 until I was laid off in 1992 but worked on many elevator projects including the engineering team for the "inclination" elevators installed at the Luxor Hotel, in Las Vegas.

Elevators kept "Girl from Ipanema" (in)famous for decades.

Laughed out loud when Elevator Music played instead of Ye soundtrack! Delightful!

Another building that owes it's growth to the elevator: the hospital. Horizontal hospitals would take up too much space, vertical hospitals allow for much more efficient movement.

"How's business?" Otis: "Up and down"

The first elevator I ever rode in was in the 1950s, it had an operator. The most interesting elevator I rode in was the one in the Gateway Arch in St Louis. It resembles a barrel and turns as it ascends and descends.

Your channel reminds me of Paul Harvey's rest of the story.

When I was a kid the Sears in Bangor had an attended elevator and one day I was allowed to go to the toy department on my own. Being a rather nerdy kid I headed to the elevator to see its operation but the attendant was not there. I had seen the elevators operation many times before so I got on board and took myself to the 5th(?) floor without incident. I don't think elevator operation was all that difficult if a nerdy 8 year old could figure it out.

I remember how old I suddenly felt when I heard a Beatle song on an elevator.

I thought I knew the history of the elevator. Now I do. When I was a kid in the 1960’s in South Carolina my mother was a manager of one department in a regional chain department store. It had three above ground stories and a basement. There was a small elevator probably close to 5x8 feet that was attended by a sweet black lady with white gloves. The control was a vertical wheel like device that had a handle and mounted on the wall. Pushing the handle counter clockwise made the elevator descend and pushing clockwise made it rise. She had to time it just right to stop the elevator even with the floor and she was always spot on. Then she would manually pull back a thick brass “screen” and open the door. Being the sweet kid that I was she would let me handle the controls but my timing wasn’t comparable to hers and I usually had to bump the control a time or two to get it situated properly. As we jounced up and down she would look down at me and smile. Growing up in the 60’s was awesome!

As a boy growing up in small town USA in the late 50s, I still remember two buildings downtown that had elevator operators. I always looked forward to riding those elevators.

For a second I thought I was watching Technology Connections....

Recognizing that this episode wasn't a deep dive into elevator technology, I still was a little surprised that hydraulic lift elevators didn't get a mention, given their widespread modern use in buildings usually less than 5 stories.

Thank you sir, once again ....I happen to be an elevator tech in NYC and have been for over 33 years. My company, Schindler Elevator along with Otis and Many others, have been using steel belts as of late, much lighter than steel ropes, and there are elevators in use that use magnets, the same theory behind maglev trains. We here in NYC have several buildings that are well over 100 floors, and there are many the world over. The computers that control elevators are quiet sophisticated and are hard to compare to units of old. In my early days, I saw everything from water hydros to drum elevators. You did a fine job with the history and I throughly enjoyed your deep dive into what I find to be a fascinating field.

Did you know an elevator chimes once when going up and twice when going down? This is an accessibility feature mandated by the ADA in the US.

One of my first jobs was working in the stockroom at the top of a department store. This included using a lift with the metal scissor gate which I hated as I had come close to trapping my fingers in on more then one occasion. Especially when opening it. So I used to slam it open or shut as hard as I can moving my fingers out of the way as I did so. And I was not alone in doing this. Even the stockroom manager used to do it, roundly cursing it as he did so.

Loved the”elevate us” pun at the end!

This episode was very uplifting because it reminded me of the only electrical elevator we had in our small town in the 1960s. It was in the five-story Masonic building and was operated by an elderly black woman who opened and closed the cage door and managed the operating lever. We also had a rope and pulley operated cargo lift elevator in our two-story hardware store, which was certified annually by a state inspector. We used it from the late 1920s until the 1970s, when the state decertified it. Because we could no longer lift material upstairs, the upper floor storage room became frozen in time. The few items we could store upstairs had to be manually carried up the staircase, but eventually rain rot through the roof made it unsafe to use the second floor for this purpose. This presented a bit of a problem because the lavatory was on the second floor, so in order to use it one had to be careful where to step, lest a foot went through a floorboard. Everything began to decay, including an old 48 star flag, unused display cases, a glass cutting table, and sales record books dating back to 1909 (a different store had been used across the street prior to the construction of the new store around 1929). In the end an electrical spark ignited a fire that burned the place to the ground. Aside form a safe, the only other things I salvaged were a few hundred bricks from the outer wall which I used to pave a walkway in front of my house. When I sold my home and moved away, I took a couple of leftover bricks as a reminder of a time and place that is no more. All this because of a a faulty elevator.

One of the three best history channels on RU-vid. Techmoan, Technology Connections and The History Guy.

*Technology Connections intenfies*

What impressed me most about some of the older lifts was the beautiful artwork in them. New York still had some older models from the 1920s and 30s ( with operators too) being used in the early 70s. Wood interiors with carvings or paintings on the ceilings made you feel safe and calm. Now we nothing more than cold steel and metal walls with blinding reflections and used coffee cups on the floor.

As an employee of Otis for over 43 years now, I'm glad I found this great presentation! I had a colleague who re-enacted the Elisha demo for our 150 years (I think!) at a trade show down here in Oz that was quite entertaining!

12:36 Groove on that Technology Connections (RU-vid channel) slow jam.

When I was a kid in New York back in the late 60s and early 70s elevator operators were still a thing. And remained a thing in industrial warehouses around the city for quite some time after.

12:35 Technology Connections theme as "Elevator Music"

As always, with the History Guy touch added, history is no longer one of the most boring subjects on the high school roster of classes. A torture session to gain credits needed to graduate! Thanks HG! Another bit of history comes to life !

History that's uplifting!

Manual elevators didn't go away in 1945. As a High School kid during the Seventies I ran a manual elevator in a five floor office building.

I love learning the history of things people use everyday and never give a thought to.

I used to make deliveries in KC mo back in the 80's and lots of older buildings had freight elevators with those metal cage doors that popped from above and below to meet in the middle and you used a lever to move the elevator. And I remember the Muelbach Hotel on 12th street had elevator operators using that lever with no buttons. Very fancy elevators. And in the state capitol of Ks in Topeka had an open air elevator in the center of a large area under the dome that moved very fast and was essentially a cage. I had the honor of being a page there while in the 6th grade back in the 60's.

I remember this fictitious slogan: Otis elevators: guaranteed never to let you down.

12:36 I suddenly feel a technology connection...

12:35 wow golly that's some tasty muzak I feel like it has some kind of connection to technology

I'm elated with the history guy lifting my spirits with the ups and downs, highs and lows of the history of the elevator. The history guy is elevating us to new heights.

The development of self-powered elevator carriages on rails instead of cables is fascinating. There can be more than one per shaft, they can move horizontally, even go on one-way trips and park somewhere out of the way. They can do all the things a trolley could do. We're probably not even a decade away from having them thoroughly tested and proven robust enough to start installations. The Star Trek turbolift is gonna be real.

history guy, in the 1970's I was in a building in Frankfurt Germany that had a "Pater Noster" elevator. It took some courage to jump into the little booth at first and you had better be paying attention because you had to step off as it streamed pass the floor you needed to get off on. Also, why didn't the brakes work on the elevator in the Empire State Building when the bomber crashed into it. If I remember from your podcast, the lady survived because the cables underneath the car cushioned her fall .

I alway thought it strange that the "Otis Elevator Company" office (had to have been a sales office) in Dayton, Ohio, was a single story building.

I worked for Otis in the mid 1980's on their next highrise elevator. At the time, there were over thirty safety features that all have to be reporting "safe" for the elevator to function. I was pretty impressed by how much effort was put into these features.

I went to school at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in the late 90s -- which were the last years of the old building. In the building existed what I believe were the last two elevators with hired operators in the city. I have to admit it was nice to know your elevator on a first name basis and the express runs to the 10th floor were appreciated. The school moved to a new building in 2000 and I followed it there and I assume those manually operated otis elevators were replaced after we left but I have to admit really loving that system for the two years I was in that building. I'm most likely the very last generation to have ever experienced it.

I wonder how many professions "striked" Themselves out of a job.

I work for the "elevator music" company, love telling people the story of the company's founding...most people chuckle and find the history pretty cool! Also, the company was started by a WW1 vet, General George Squire, and pioneered sending the muzak over existing power lines to NY high rise buildings....way ahead of its time for the 1920s!

Two elevators worth mentioning from the former British Empire are the Marine Building in Vancouver, BC and the CN Tower in Toronto ON. I've been up (and down) both of them, and each building was, in it's hey day the tallest building in the commonwealth. If you have a chance, take the 'lift' in the Marine building. The lift cars are inlaid with intricate woodwork, a true marvel of craftsmanship in 1930, just before the Depression took hold.

My boyfriend's dad bought this old building in Zumbrota, MN. that served as a funeral home in the 1800's. In the back was this huge 8x8 elevator that emptied and filled with water to carry the coffins to the 2nd floor. First time I'd ever seen that! Very cool.

Good Pun at the end there."Elevate Us Even More" Excellent Pun. As always very informative and also why Otis seems to be growing what seems to be larger every day. Thank You

That was an interesting video. I can remember going to one store in Bellingham that had an elevator operator in the early 1960s I think it was the Woolworths store. At this time they still had the freight elevators that came up out of the sidewalk to move freight to the basement.

The enthusiastic muzak over the closing remarks was an especially nice touch

I have to hand it to you mate. I would never have thought a video about the history of elevators could possibly be interesting. As you're never failed to hold my interest yet, I thought I'd give it a go, and indeed it was very interesting. Thanks for that.

When getting into the elevator in the Space Needle at the 1962 Worlds Fair in Seattle, WA, I could feel the car rising and falling a half inch or so, as the wind pushed on the 500+ foot exposed cables. The glass walls did not help my acrophobia.

Did Otis "Pirate" someone else's invention? You know, cause every Good story has Pirates in it....

Your vids are always fascinating. Thanks.

I've been watching your channel for over a year and you finally hit home. I'm a IUEC Elevator service technician for Otis Elevator Co. for the past 31 years. I'm very impressed with your research on my profession. You pretty much summed up our whole NEIEP apprenticeship year 1 module in 15 minutes. Bravo' I learned all this and was tested on it my first year in our union. God bless the IUEC, they're the ones who make it all happen. The best and strongest Union in the country. Fantastic job, The History Guy.

"Did anybody watch this video using an elevator?" "Nope, it was the stares."

The Biltmore House has a beautifully done Otis elevator that was built in 1895 and still functions last I read.

Another fantastic video! Thanks a lot! And happy New Year! I look forward to many more super-interesting videos with "snippet for forgotten history" in 2020. Like you I love history, and I admire your ability to tell a great story in a gripping and exciting way, while educating your audience. Kind regards from (probably) your most avid and biggest Danish fan!

Found your page from a recommended video while watching The Action Lab. Love it! I used to hate history in school; now I find it fascinating! Thanks for making these videos! I've been binge-watching your channel. XD

The Hassayampa Inn in Prescott AZ still has a working Otis elevator. There is an attendant that works it for you.

I remember my mother having a conversation with an American and saying "we call them lifts", he said we invented them to which she replied we invented the language. Parents can be embarrassing!

Keep up your research and presentations. Thank you

As always Great Piece of History! KEEP ON ROCKING!

Tip: when adding bgm to a track have at least half or a third as loud as your main voice track. So if voice is set at -6db, set the bgm to -18db. That Muzak was hella loud.

That outro music, I swear I know it from somewhere, my brain seems to think it's the melody of a Sonic the Hedgehog level theme but I can't think of which one... Also hearing Technology Connections theme music threw me a bit lol!

Love the pauses before "lift". If you had more time, I guess a mention of the old Paternoster (now sadly outlawed in the UK) would have been fun. As would a mention of the very modern ThysennKrupp cable-less elevator which will also go sideways as well and up and down.

Thanks for another great video!!

You know are old when you hear your favorite rock anthem turned into elevator music.

I once knew a guy who was a one-way elevator operator. He was on the up-and-up.

Good video as always. Your style kind of reminds of James Burke's Connections which was my all time favorite history series. Keep up the good work!

I love these snippets because I have read History for 60 years. But, the elevator attendants were not completely eliminated in the 20's. Growing up in the 50's in Chicago there were quite a few buildings, mostly dept. stores such as Sears, Wieboldts, Grants, Marshall Fields, and others who I remember as a young boy having elevator operators. Some clever owners had only good looking girls for obvious reasons. They were slow and stopped at every floor, but no one seemed to care. It was a sign of the times, we weren't always in a hurry for no reason. I remember those elevator rides with my family. We were filled with eager anticipation as to where we were going, even though we rarely knew where that was. As always, Thank you.

Back in the 1980's, I had a friend who worked for the Haines Company who made the Criss-Cross telephone books that you could find the person who had the number by looking up the phone number or the street address. He brought me and another friend to various cities where they would hire delivery people from a motel to deliver the new book and pick up the old ones. He rented me a hatchback Ford Pinto and I delivered/picked up books to office buildings in the downtown areas. In St. Louis, some of the office buildings had elevators that each only serviced 10 floors at different levels.

Cute! Ending the segment w/ "elevator" music. Or, would that be musac? Thank you for this very uplifting history lesson.

I enjoy your postings. Thanks

The stories are well researched, and nicely presented by a pleasant gentleman. Love your channel

There are plans? to build an elevator to outer space. I have a 1903 copy of a Sweet's Construction Catalogue. It has many lift systems to get materials especially mortar for bricks up the sides of buildings for use by people working on scaffolds.

When young, I remember riding in an elevator that lacked a "13" button on the floor selector panel. Was this a common practice in older buildings?

I lived in a four story apartment building in San Francisco built in 1912. The old Otis elevator had steel walls that went up four feet, then elaborate metal filigree that not even a small child could not get their hand through, all the way to the ceiling. There was a sliding door from the hall the elevator facing the halls and a sliding gate inside. I only used the elevator if I was tired as the building had wide stairways in the halls. I liked to run up them. The elevator would not work unless both doors were completely closed. This could be a problem when people forgot to close the doors all the way. You would have to find out which floor the elevator was stuck on and close the doors. I loved being able to see the counter weights going up and down through the filigree whenever I rode it.

Always a pleasure watching or listening as I get ready for work!

That elevator music at the end was a nice touch. 😅

Tech connections- "elevator music! why that SOB."

Great information. Thanks for the elevator music, and, of course, all of the research that makes these presentations so good!

Always a learning experience with you sir.

The music at the end! 😂

12:00 They struck themselves right out of work.

Well done as usual!

What an uplifting episode! Well done!

Was really hoping you would have discussed the "inclinators" in the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas. A different type of elevator that actually moves in a diagonal line. Those were a very interesting experience to ride in.

Next time you're in an elevator with strangers, whisper conspiratorially, "Hey, wanna smell something weird?"

I worked for an insurance company which insured Otis Elevator. Safe risk. Very well made and maintained. You remind me of my physician not only in appearance buy mannerisms. I like him a lot. He was going to retire, but I told him I would have to look for a new doctor. He said, okay, I won't retire until you croak. His exact words. I can't hold him to it, but it was a nice gesture.

Your stories are uplifting!

"This is Otis Elevator singing his new hit, 'I've Had My Ups and Downs'." Firesign Theatre By the way, 40 feet/second = 27 mph which is pretty quick for a vertical ride of say 1000 feet.

wish you would have mentioned pater noster elevators.

Always interesting! Thank you. 🌹

I will never look at an elevator the same again great vid keep up the great work.