Did you ever ride in an elevator manned by an elevator operator??
dreher
Member Posts: 8,788 ✭✭✭✭
I can remember the early 50s. I remember going to a department store in Fort Wayne, Indiana with my mother and taking my first elevator ride!! When you are a little kid, taking your first elevator ride is a real big deal!!
This old black guy sat on a stool in the right front corner of the elevator, he would say "Going up or going down." when you walked on to the elevator, he would close the door, then close this gate on the inside of the elevator and take you up or down, to the appropriate floor, open the gate, then open the door on the floor where you were getting off. Ever so cool to a 6 or 7 year old!!
What I don't remember is how he closed the elevator door. Obviously the door on the floor had to be locked from inside the elevator cab so whack jobs didn't open the door from the floor to access the elevator shaft to try parachuteless shaft diving.
Do you know why they never hired blondes as elevator operators??
They couldn't learn the route!!🤣
Comments
as late as the 70's there was a Funeral Home slash Furniture store in my home town that had one. The only 4 story building in the town at that time
As a shift electrician in the '90's I was called upon many times to free people from a stuck elevator. Invariably, they would be passed off at me because they got stuck.
The last time I was in Washington DC (2017) I noticed the “senators only” elevators in the capitol building were manned with operators. I guess we can’t expect our Senators to be bothered with pushing an elevator button.
Frequently in scenic Peoria, IL back in the mid '40's and early '50's. I wondered even as a little kid that it must be a really boring job.
Yes, and with the opened, cross flat metal gates so you could see each floor pass.
As a child in the early 60s I remember riding in elevators at Belks and some other downtown buildings with operators. Seems like I too, remember them usually being older black men .
My mother was an elevator operator in the 60's. It was a ten-story professional building. When there weren't any passengers she was required to keep the brass metal railings and trim to a mirror polish.
Yeah they probably went away the same time telephone operators did
Sometime back in the early 70's, I had to go to the top floor of the Federal Building in downtown Detroit. Can't quite remember what for, but do have vivid memories of that ride up using the EXPRESS elevator! It did have an attendant doing all of the button pushing. The guy had to help me back up to my feet after I blacked out on the rapid rise to the top!
Just on a side note, I also remember that awful boring music that played in a few elevators I've ridden. Same stuff that you'd hear while grocery shopping.
The scary part is the music that is played today is from the top 10 from my era!!
Austin20, I don't think you are correct about our senators. It is not because they are to lazy to push the buttons, it is that they are a whole lot like blondes!!😂
Yup , late 50's in the Empire State Building
Can't remember exactly where it was; very possibly the Famous Barr department store in St Louis. Department stores are gone now, too. The larger hotels had them, also.
I have even bowled at an alley with live pin setters. Yup, that old.
True, very true 😁
I remember getting in an elevator when I was little and being so disappointed that I couldn't push the button. I had ridden on elevators, but for some reason this one had a "GUY" that ruined everything for me that day. I'm sure I gave my mom a hard time at that moment.
My wife’s grandparents escaped to Russia into Japan. They then came to America and her grandfather worked as an elevator operator at the Olympic hotel in Seattle. Not sure of the years this happened, but he died before I ever met him. I did meet her grandmother and she lived to be 104 years old.
1969- Hotel Baker, Mineral Wells TX- still had an elevator with operator.
Today- Doswell Virginia- King's Dominion amusement park Eiffel Tower- the elevator has an operator
Couple of years back was in a DEEP silver mine. The Man-trip took us down around 5.000 ft. Most hi-rise construction sites have a manually run elevator on the exterior of the building. Great view.
My wife's little brother came to visit me in the federal courthouse when he was in his early teens, He said riding the elevator was better than the county fair back home in Yell County, Arkansas. He kept thinking of excuses to go down to the 1st floor.
I'm surely old enough to have that experience. Early 50s the clothing store we liked was The Young Men's Shop in downtown Durham, NC. Upstairs was The Boy's Shop. I believe there was a seemtress shop one more floor up. I was a pre teen then so went up to the Boys Shop. The elevator was manned by a kindly black gentleman all the time. He sat on a stool attached to the wall. One floor up, one floor down. We loved it. Also they had the vacuum tube system so they put your bill and money in that and sent it zooming across the ceiling to disappear as it went up to a cashier. If you needed alterations, which in those times trousers came unfinished so were custom fitted, that went up the tube also. It was fun to watch. What a lovely time to be growing up in a relaxed and kinder society.
Had forgotten the vacuum tube system . The local belk store had them also .
as very young kid at least one old multi level store in town only a few were three maybe one four story
but I remember the operator. stand back what floor watch your step
many years later when working construction we were remolding the Dayton daily news ? may have had different name back then .
it was interesting to watch the newspaper flying by in the machines dang printers ink was every where could not avoing gtting it on you
any way we used a old freight elevator that was manually operated a three minute crash corse from some one else who had the same training
and wow now I am a operator LOL
took a few tries to get it stop just at floor level sometime step up sometimes step down LOL
close both sets of gates and watch the bare walls and no protective guars as you operated it
one more elevator story we remodeled the third national bank down town Dayton
it had a private one maybe two person elevator from the 1st floor to the basement right next to the vault
it had not used in years
my boss said Dave today disassemble that old elevator we scrapping and the plans call for it to taken out it
OK
what I knew about elevators was ZERO
so a hand full of wrenches and a hammer I stepped inside and started taking it all apart panel by panel bolt by bolt
I was standing next to the floor frame work of the car on the concrete floor all of a sudden it shot by my body and head just missing me close shave comes to mind with in a few seconds the counter weights slamed down just beside me again just skimming my clothes .
it took me a few minutes to realize I about died twice in a 2 minute span
when my heart rate and breathing went back to normal . I climbed out of the pit told my boss
.. he mumble something like who would guessed thats odd now get the rest of taken apart but be careful nothing like caring about your workers
one of the days I know my guarding angle was with me ( he or she ) got a huge work out when I worked construction too many times, I had many friends not so lucky and now resting in peace
like a cat I knew I had used up all 9 of my lifes thak goodness I went on to another work environment but sadly with daily reminders of theoes days like I cant hear just a loud buzzing and my back and knees are shot
oh well young and dumb and back when you could be replaced with a phone call so you had to do what you had to do to feed the family