Ice Cream and a Victorian-Era Elevator Car

Longtime ELEVATOR WORLD correspondent and industry legend George Gibson, aka “King George,” recently shared a few of the more than 30,000 elevator-centric photographs he has taken throughout his more than 60-year career. Among the interesting photos were several of an ornate Victorian cage-style Otis elevator car in Port Townsend, Washington. The unit is nonoperational, sitting outdoors. In several of the shots, the car is overgrown with leaves, seemingly abandoned. The photo was apparently taken during Port Townsend’s off-season, since, during busy summer months, the elevator cab houses food vendors. It got its start in that regard in summer 1977 when Elevated Ice Cream Co. was established, serving five flavors and sundaes topped with fresh fruit out of the whimsical enclosure. With more than 20 flavors, Elevated Ice Cream is now located across the street from the old elevator cab that is still used by many vendors, according to the company’s new owner Josh Freund. He says he does not know the history of the cab, but believes it once served a hospital in the Seattle area. Although his ice cream shop is now located along Water Street, “the public entrance and first impression of historic Fort Townsend,”^[1] the antique elevator cab where it got its start has not been forgotten: It is now depicted as part of the company’s newly created logo that shows the original owner — complete with 1970s hairdo — serving ice cream from it.

Reference

[1] cityofpt.us/publicworks/page/water-street-enhancement-project