The origins of the modern stairlift, materials lift, and elevator date back longer than many may think. Like any invention, moving people and materials between levels and floors led to creating such devices because of necessity, with evolution coming from an interest in going faster and higher.
Historians believe the first stairway chair lift dates back to King Henry VIII, who in the 1500s had a jousting accident that rendered him unable to climb the stairs to his palace room. The primitive lift probably used a block and tackle system to lift his chair, but the idea of moving a chair up a staircase was born.
The same principle was used in the early 1800s when workers employed mechanized hoists to transport goods between levels, but these original platform lifts were open and therefore not safe for transporting people.
It wasn’t until the early 1920s that Pennsylvania entrepreneur C.C. Crispen designed a stairlift that moved a chair up a straight length of stairs using a rail, wheels, and a cable. He had visited a friend who could not navigate his home staircase due to polio, and using his self-taught engineering skills, built a prototype that he called the Inclin-ator.
Noticed by the Philadelphia Electric Company, Crispen’s invention was displayed in its showroom and installed in the Westinghouse Electric Home in Atlantic City to great acclaim, but being designed for straight staircases only, Crispen later developed the Elevette, a residential elevator specifically for homes with curved or winding stairways.
The precursor to the modern elevator, however, dates back to the mid and late 1850s, when a hoisted platform was demonstrated at the New York World’s Fair and when a patented “vertical railway” debuted in New York’s Fifth Avenue Hotel. These were larger models than the Elevette would be many years later, and they targeted a commercial audience, with safety as a key issue.
The first elevators were largely gawked at, extremely slow, and not trusted. The first, installed in a New York department store in 1857, was shut down three years later after customers refused to use it. One installed in a luxury New York hotel became popular with its upholstered seats, mirrors, and chandelier. More a tourist attraction, speed was not a concern. These early elevators were steam powered and moved about 40 feet per minute.
With patented braking systems designed to prevent sudden falls and hydraulic systems replacing steam systems, elevators soon became part of the push to build taller buildings. The eight-story Equitable Life Building in Manhattan was the first office building with elevators, and the first skyscraper opened in Chicago in 1885, finally establishing elevators as a key piece in designing any office building.
The demand to be able to build higher and move faster drove the change from hydraulics to electric elevators in the first part of the 20th century, with the electric traction elevator still holding as the industry standard. Ultimately, this new and desirable technology would find its way into high-rise residential buildings, with New York taking the lead and presenting society with the luxury penthouse perched at the top of these modern buildings.
In 1931, the Empire State building was the world’s tallest skyscraper with 73 elevators serving 102 floors. Today, the fastest elevator in the world is installed in the Shanghai Tower, traveling at 46 miles an hour.
Elevators and lifts are a key part of living and working in today’s society and are as important to residential life as they are to commercial and industrial establishments. Encompassing Crispen’s invention of the stairlift, the evolution of the modern elevator, and the incorporation of stairlifts that accommodate curved staircases, indoor and outdoor platform lifts for wheelchairs, and residential elevators, business owners and homeowners can fill virtually every need as it pertains to moving people and goods between multiple floors.
At Handel & Son Elevator/Lift Company, elevators, lifts, dumbwaiters, and material lifts are available from such quality manufacturers as Garaventa, Saravia, and Inclinator, the company originally established by Crispen and still family owned and operated.
If you are looking for an elevator or lift for your home or business in Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, or Northern West Virginia, contact Handel & Son today, or click here for more information about all the products offered, fully installed, and serviced by Handel & Son.