The first public lift was in a New York department store Without them there would be no high-rise city. But when it comes to the passenger lift - now celebrating its 150th anniversary - are you a lost soul or a welcome wagon?
The first public lift was in a New York department store Without them there would be no high-rise city. But when it comes to the passenger lift - now celebrating its 150th anniversary - are you a lost soul or a welcome wagon?
It's one of those unglamorous inventions that's so widely used it goes largely unnoticed. You go to the lifts, push the button, and even if it only takes a few seconds, it still feels like too long.
It's one of those unglamorous inventions that's so widely used it goes largely unnoticed. You go to the lifts, push the button, and even if it only takes a few seconds, it still feels like too long.
Then you get inside, and as the doors close you take a close-up look at your fellow passengers, get irritated if they've stopped the lift for only one floor, and get even more irritated if not only can you see them in unexpected proximity, you can also smell them.
Then you get inside, and as the doors close you take a close-up look at your fellow passengers, get irritated if they've stopped the lift for only one floor, and get even more irritated if not only can you see them in unexpected proximity, you can also smell them.
The invention of the lift made skyscrapers possibleBut without the lift, which is celebrating a low-key 150th anniversary, the urban landscape would look utterly different. High-rise apartments and thrusting corporate tower blocks would have remained distinctly low-rise if we still depended on the stairs.
The invention of the lift made skyscrapers possibleBut without the lift, which is celebrating a low-key 150th anniversary, the urban landscape would look utterly different. High-rise apartments and thrusting corporate tower blocks would have remained distinctly low-rise if we still depended on the stairs.
We now take the lift for granted, but when the concept of the modern, safety passenger lift was first unveiled, it was demonstrated as a major marvel, with a dramatic, show-business flourish at a trade fair in New York.
We now take the lift for granted, but when the concept of the modern, safety passenger lift was first unveiled, it was demonstrated as a major marvel, with a dramatic, show-business flourish at a trade fair in New York.
Its inventor, Elisha Otis, cut the rope above the suspended lift carriage to show that its safety brakes worked and wouldn't come crashing to the ground.
Its inventor, Elisha Otis, cut the rope above the suspended lift carriage to show that its safety brakes worked and wouldn't come crashing to the ground.
The first steam-driven, passenger safety lift in public use appeared in the Haughwout department store in New York, opening on March 23 1857. Maybe they didn't have the Are You Being Served theme music playing, but it meant the world of modern lifts in shops and offices had arrived.
The first steam-driven, passenger safety lift in public use appeared in the Haughwout department store in New York, opening on March 23 1857. Maybe they didn't have the Are You Being Served theme music playing, but it meant the world of modern lifts in shops and offices had arrived.
Leviathans
Leviathans
In 1860, the first lift appeared in a London hotel, the Grosvenor near Victoria Station, although it was rather serenely described as the "ascending room". Presumably this inaugural hotel lift must have seen the first ever conversation about which floor to get off for breakfast.
In 1860, the first lift appeared in a London hotel, the Grosvenor near Victoria Station, although it was rather serenely described as the "ascending room". Presumably this inaugural hotel lift must have seen the first ever conversation about which floor to get off for breakfast.
From an ornate novelty, lifts rapidly became part of the urban landscape. In crowded cities where land was expensive, building upwards into the sky became a possibility - and the first generation of skyscrapers were known as "elevator buildings".
From an ornate novelty, lifts rapidly became part of the urban landscape. In crowded cities where land was expensive, building upwards into the sky became a possibility - and the first generation of skyscrapers were known as "elevator buildings".
There have been studies in workplaces in the United States suggesting that people wait to get into lifts with people of a similar status Gary FitzgibbonWorkplace psychologist By the beginning of the 20th Century, lifts were serving leviathans such as the 22-storey Flatiron Building in New York and Belle Epoque tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
There have been studies in workplaces in the United States suggesting that people wait to get into lifts with people of a similar status Gary FitzgibbonWorkplace psychologist By the beginning of the 20th Century, lifts were serving leviathans such as the 22-storey Flatiron Building in New York and Belle Epoque tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
But for the people using these lifts it was also a different kind of psychological experience. It meant sharing an enclosed metal cage with a bunch of strangers.
But for the people using these lifts it was also a different kind of psychological experience. It meant sharing an enclosed metal cage with a bunch of strangers.
"It breaks all the usual conventions about the bubble of personal space we carry around with us - and you don't have the option to move away," says workplace psychologist, Gary Fitzgibbon. Being trapped in this setting can create different types of tensions, he says.
"It breaks all the usual conventions about the bubble of personal space we carry around with us - and you don't have the option to move away," says workplace psychologist, Gary Fitzgibbon. Being trapped in this setting can create different types of tensions, he says.
There are people who are phobic about lifts, not so much because of the fear of falling, but the fear of getting stuck.
There are people who are phobic about lifts, not so much because of the fear of falling, but the fear of getting stuck.
Soothing
Soothing
And he says there can also be a sexual frisson to lifts, with strangers brought close together. For attention-seekers, lifts can be a push-button opportunity, he says, either by hogging the lift buttons or starting conversations that no one can escape.
And he says there can also be a sexual frisson to lifts, with strangers brought close together. For attention-seekers, lifts can be a push-button opportunity, he says, either by hogging the lift buttons or starting conversations that no one can escape.
There can also be power games, says Mr Fitzgibbon. "There have been studies in workplaces in the United States suggesting that people wait to get into lifts with people of a similar status."
There can also be power games, says Mr Fitzgibbon. "There have been studies in workplaces in the United States suggesting that people wait to get into lifts with people of a similar status."
In the US, there are also much-e-mailed profiles of the lift passengers to avoid. The most feared is the irrepressibly friendly person who wants to treat the lift carriage as their "welcome wagon". Other familiar characters are the image-conscious "Primper", the "Lost Soul" who never quite finds the right floor and the self-explanatory "Creepy Guy".
In the US, there are also much-e-mailed profiles of the lift passengers to avoid. The most feared is the irrepressibly friendly person who wants to treat the lift carriage as their "welcome wagon". Other familiar characters are the image-conscious "Primper", the "Lost Soul" who never quite finds the right floor and the self-explanatory "Creepy Guy".
There can be a sexual frisson to liftsThere's also a whole behaviour-watching theory about where you stand in a lift. Back to the wall to be able to see everyone else in the lift? Or staying near the door to make an easy exit?
There can be a sexual frisson to liftsThere's also a whole behaviour-watching theory about where you stand in a lift. Back to the wall to be able to see everyone else in the lift? Or staying near the door to make an easy exit?
Another hazard of the lift traveller is piped music, usually of the schmaltz-flavoured variety.
Another hazard of the lift traveller is piped music, usually of the schmaltz-flavoured variety.
Even though it might be associated with the kipper-tied 1970s, in fact lift music has a much longer history, says Jacob Smith from the University of Nottingham's Institute of Film and Television Studies.
Even though it might be associated with the kipper-tied 1970s, in fact lift music has a much longer history, says Jacob Smith from the University of Nottingham's Institute of Film and Television Studies.
Music has been playing in lifts since the early 1920s - with the intention of soothing any tension or anxieties. And who was the chief provider of this service? The Muzak Corporation. Although previously such tinkling tunes were reviled as a "crime against music", Mr Smith says such lift music is now undergoing a critical revival.
Music has been playing in lifts since the early 1920s - with the intention of soothing any tension or anxieties. And who was the chief provider of this service? The Muzak Corporation. Although previously such tinkling tunes were reviled as a "crime against music", Mr Smith says such lift music is now undergoing a critical revival.
Prestige
Prestige
Lifts have another more substantial cultural pedigree. They've been an irresistible device for movie makers, who use the tension and drama of this enclosed space. There are entire movie buff lists dedicated to movies with lift scenes - such as North by Northwest, Some Like It Hot and Towering Inferno.
Lifts have another more substantial cultural pedigree. They've been an irresistible device for movie makers, who use the tension and drama of this enclosed space. There are entire movie buff lists dedicated to movies with lift scenes - such as North by Northwest, Some Like It Hot and Towering Inferno.
"The lift has got everything for a feature film's development," says the British Film Institute's Brian Robinson. "Is someone going to be left alone in the lift with the killer? There's the interplay of racing a lift by using the stairs, the drama of waiting."
"The lift has got everything for a feature film's development," says the British Film Institute's Brian Robinson. "Is someone going to be left alone in the lift with the killer? There's the interplay of racing a lift by using the stairs, the drama of waiting."
There's the whole uncertainty of who might be among the passengers in a lift - and the way the lift doors open and close is almost like the curtains on a stage, revealing and concealing characters.
There's the whole uncertainty of who might be among the passengers in a lift - and the way the lift doors open and close is almost like the curtains on a stage, revealing and concealing characters.
Lifts play a big part in filmsIt was also a very convenient shot for directors, atmospheric but with no need for any elaborate camera movements, says Mr Robinson, whose own lift favourite is a 1940s Gary Cooper movie called The Fountainhead.
Lifts play a big part in filmsIt was also a very convenient shot for directors, atmospheric but with no need for any elaborate camera movements, says Mr Robinson, whose own lift favourite is a 1940s Gary Cooper movie called The Fountainhead.
Lift technology has also been on an upward trajectory. The appetite for prestige skyscrapers has meant developing lifts that can match this vertical ambition.
Lift technology has also been on an upward trajectory. The appetite for prestige skyscrapers has meant developing lifts that can match this vertical ambition.
The current holder of the fastest lift record runs up and down the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan, which is claimed as the world's tallest building. The lift, which travels up to 36 miles per hour, had to be adapted for changes in pressure, so that passengers' ears wouldn't pop.
The current holder of the fastest lift record runs up and down the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan, which is claimed as the world's tallest building. The lift, which travels up to 36 miles per hour, had to be adapted for changes in pressure, so that passengers' ears wouldn't pop.
To put it into context, the building is more than twice the height of the biggest tower in Canary Wharf in London and the lift takes 37 seconds to get to the top. In 1857, the first lift in Haughwout's took a minute to travel 40 feet.
To put it into context, the building is more than twice the height of the biggest tower in Canary Wharf in London and the lift takes 37 seconds to get to the top. In 1857, the first lift in Haughwout's took a minute to travel 40 feet.
An even bigger project is proposed in Switzerland, where plans for an underground railway station below the Alps would mean creating the world's longest passenger lift, almost a kilometre to and from the surface.
An even bigger project is proposed in Switzerland, where plans for an underground railway station below the Alps would mean creating the world's longest passenger lift, almost a kilometre to and from the surface.
Lifts? It's not such an open and shut story.
Lifts? It's not such an open and shut story.
Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
Add your comments on this story, using the form below.
Surely the most celebrated (and imitated) moment in the life of lifts is when Bart Simpson presses all the buttons inside one on the way out, condeming a business man inside to frequent-floor-stop hell!Cecil Ashitey, London, England
All well and good to give the Americans the credit but any industrial historian will know that the lift was invented by a Mr Teagle and was commonplace in the factories of Northern England a good 100 years before Mr Otis's invention.Trevor, UK
Of course all these longest lift rides will seem as nothing if the "lift to the stars" becomes reality. As Arthur C Clarke fans will know from his book The fountains of Paradise the proposed lift to a geo-stationary platform would be a 22,300 mile trip. Laurie, London
Yeah, lifts are a great piece of engineering.I don't trust the one at the University library though. It kept closing on me when I entered and once I held my arm out to keep it open for someone when it closed on it. So now I need to climb ten levels to get books, keeps me fit.Craig, Glasgow
I have never had the misfortune to be stuck with the lift music, but upon several occasions I have been stuck with a bunch of strangers between floors. We had to press the alarm button. It was fun.Katie, London, England
Notice stuck to the outside of a non-working elevator: THIS OTIS REGRETS IT'S UNABLE TO LIFT TODAY.....(this will only be understood by readers of a certain age and knowledge of American songwriters)Peter Lawley, Telford
