February 26, 2003

Exhibit illustrates elevator’s urban influence

The history and influence of the elevator on urban growth, technology, culture and the arts is the subject of the University Library’s newest exhibit on display in the Main Library’s first-floor exhibit space through March 19.

Elisha Otis demonstrates his invention at the Crystal Palace Exposition in New York in 1853

Titled “The Elevator and the City,” the exhibit features a striking selection of books, maps and photographs that trace the history and science of freight, storage and passenger elevators from the early 1800s. Drawing from materials from University Library’s vast collections, the exhibit traces the wide-ranging effects of the elevator in modern life.

“The Elevator and the City” shows how the elevator contributed to the growth of cities such as Chicago and New York, which were forced to expand upward with skyscrapers or “elevator buildings,” as they were popularly called in the 19th century.

A section of the exhibit highlights Elisha Otis’ 1854 demonstration of the first safety passenger hoist (patented in 1861) while another speculates about elevators of the future. Also featured are elevators of the imagination, such as Roald Dahl’s “Great Glass Elevator;” a portrait of the inventor of Muzak or “elevator music;” and elevators in art, including a farce by William Dean Howell in which guests are stuck in an elevator on their way to an elegant dinner.

Film clips from “A Corner in Wheat,” “Metropolis,” “North by Northwest,” “Some Like it Hot,” “Star Trek IV,” “Being John Malkovich” and other movies explore the ways in which filmmakers have made use of the elevator. These film clips show how elevators serve as visual props propelling a story forward, providing comic relief or representing society in microcosm.