“Castle” Lift Marks 125 Years of Continuous Operation

photos courtesy of Chuck Wright

A historic elevator in Lexington, Illinois, recently marked its 125th year in operation. The hand-pulled lift is original to the 1898-built David Hyatt Van Dolah House, known locally as “the Castle.” Originally designed by architect George H. Miller and his partner James E. Fisher for a prominent local landowner, the Queen Anne home now belongs to Chuck and Mary Wright.^[1] Chuck Wright reached out to ELEVATOR WORLD to share this milestone anniversary and pose a question: Can anyone document an older continuously operating original elevator? A new pull rope and brake rope are the only changes made to the Castle’s Smith-Hill Elevator Company unit over the last century. Wright tells EW the four-stop elevator, which is inspected annually for safety, is a large dumbwaiter. The cab has a seat and fits four people — two most comfortably. The Wrights own and operate Castle Gardens, which includes the house, a 36-passenger miniature train and a locally restored antique carousel.^[2]

References

[1] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hyatt_Van_Dolah_House

[2] castlegardens.us