Anystate’s oldest working elevator
February 5th, 2008 by smidge
Usually having to use elevators is a pain for a hauler. Sure, they make things easier, but they also slow things down. But the other day was different. Handyman and I were entrusted with unsupervised operation of the oldest working elevator in the state. You know, the kind you can get to stop between floors. I took this video with my cell phone, to share the experience with you, Dear Readers:
[youtube]sSNcvHYJ91I[/youtube]
1. i already have a case of the creeps (see the email i sent you within the last five minutes) and this video isn’t helping.
2. your phone takes videos?! don’t tell me it also sends and receives text messages!
oh wow! the retirement home where i worked in HS had a big grated door like this. when it was going floor to floor, you would look out at the brick. it freaked me out immensely at the time! however, the operating mechanism wasn’t quite as cool as that giant dial/handle!
I stayed in a hotel in DC quite often for work that had one of these. It was really small, and required an elevator operator. Lots of awkward conversations about the elevator and how it worked… My grandfather had an older one in Kentucky though, in his old bike shop. I was just a section of floor that went up and down driven by belts of some sort. It freaked me out as a kid. Everything was filthy and oily.