Thanks to them buildings have risen and cities have changed. The first passenger elevator was built in Manhattan in the 19th century. It does not immediately trigger enthusiasm, because security still leaves something to be desired. This is where the industry comes in. Elisha Otis who organized a demonstration at the 1854 World’s Fair in New York. Its device makes it possible to stop the fall if the cable breaks.
From there, New York and American buildings began to equip themselves with it. In 1870 the Life Building, an eight-story building is the first office building to be designed directly with elevators. And when the Home Insurance Building, considered the first skyscraper in the world, was inaugurated in Chicago in 1885, it has four elevators to serve its ten floors.
The transition from hydraulics to the electric motor will mark a turning point in the 20th century. The symbol of this new era will be theEmpire State Building, inaugurated in 1931 and which would remain the tallest skyscraper in the world until 1970. Its 73 elevators remain the largest order to date.
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