History
Talking Elevators
The public’s response to talking-elevator systems developed by Westinghouse and Otis during the 1950s The introduction of “operatorless” elevators in the 1950s fundamentally changed the experience of riding an elevator:...
Elevator Selection and Analysis in 1898, Part Two
A look at how William H. Bryan addressed questions at the December 1898 meeting of the New York Chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Part one of this...
Elevator Selection and Analysis in 1898, Part One
An overview of William H. Bryan’s “The Mechanical Plant of a Modern Commercial Building” In December 1898, William H. Bryan (1859-1910) presented a paper titled “The Mechanical Plant of a...
45 Years of NEIEP
An overview of the National Elevator Industry Educational Program’s (NEIEP) history On March 23, 1967, the National Elevator Manufacturing Industry, Inc. (NEMI), now the National Elevator Industry, Inc. (NEII) and...
Elevated Fiction
Novels featuring the elevator car and other system components In a previous article, “Just for Kids” (ELEVATOR WORLD, October 2007), I explored the use of elevators in children’s literature. This...
Hart’s Cyclic Elevator, Part Two
A detailed examination of published accounts of cyclic-elevator installations One of the first published accounts of a cyclic elevator installation appeared in the August 27, 1880 issue of British Architect...
Hart’s Cyclic Elevator, Part I
A detailed examination of Hart’s patents to achieve a better understanding of one of the first paternoster systems. Hart’s Cyclic Elevator, designed by English consulting engineer Frederick Hart in 1877...
Steam-Powered Elevator Engines
Examining early steam-powered engines and their evolution There is, perhaps, nothing as antithetical to our conception of the modern electric elevator engine as the 19th-century steam engine. Our mind’s eye...
Tyler Elevator Doors, Circa 1919
A 1919 catalog from W.S. Tyler Co. and the technology and products offered during the period In 1919, W.S. Tyler Co. of Cleveland issued Catalog No. 44: A Book of...
Obstruction Detectors – A Historical Review
A review of door sensors from the 1950s to the present A major issue with automatically powered elevator doors is the risk of passenger injury from door impacts. Elevator companies...
