Dr. Lee Gray
Dr. Lee Gray, professor of Architectural History and senior associate dean of the College of Arts + Architecture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, has written more than 200 monthly articles on the history of vertical transportation (VT) for ELEVATOR WORLD since 2003. He is also the author of From Ascending Rooms to Express Elevators: A History of the Passenger Elevator in the 19th Century. He also serves as curator of theelevatormuseum.org, created by Elevator World, Inc.
The Origin of the Safety Plank
Cyrus W. Baldwin was the first to introduce the VT community — at home and abroad — to this concept. The successful debut of Elisha Otis’ improved safety device in...
Safety Appliances for Lifts: 1895 (Part 2)
A look at the contents of Umney’s paper on lift safeties On 10 June 1895, Herbert W. Umney (1870-1958) presented an illustrated paper on lift safeties to the Society of...
The History of Operatorless Elevators: Traffic Control Systems (Part Two)
by Dr. Lee Gray, EW Correspondent The design team that introduced one of the first automatic elevator traffic control systems included Otis engineers David L. Lindquist, Edward L. Dunn and...
Elevator World: 1993
A look at EW’s 40th year ELEVATOR WORLD began its 40th year with founder William C. Sturgeon recalling the magazine’s beginning: “In early 1953 everything depended upon the response from...
Safety Appliances for Lifts: 1895 (Part 1)
A look at the critical background and context of Umney’s paper On 10 June 1895, Herbert W. Umney (1870-1958) presented an illustrated paper on lift safeties to the Society of...
The History of Operatorless Elevators: Traffic Control Systems (Part One)
The role of elevator operators decreases as systems become increasingly automated. The first phase in the development of the operatorless elevator began in the last decade of the 19th century...
ELEVATOR WORLD in 1983
Magazine becomes increasingly international, adds events calendar and covers computers. While ELEVATOR WORLD’s editorial mission, first defined by founder William C. Sturgeon in 1953, remained essentially unchanged as the...
The History of Operatorless Elevators: John D. Ihlder
Ihlder’s contribution to the electric elevator merits special recognition. The second phase of the history of the operatorless elevator (1895-1900) focused on the continued refinement of pushbutton systems and...
“Oh, To Be in England”
A look at EW founder’s seven-week visit to the U.K. in 1982 One of British poet Robert Browning’s most famous works is best known for its opening lines, rather than...
The History of Operatorless Elevators: Push Button Control 1886 -1895
Period established a critical baseline for all future work. The story of the invention of the operatorless elevator encompasses the history of several discrete vertical-transportation (VT) systems. The first to...
