Ancient Rome also made use of the ingenuity that came from elevator use, and the equipment was common for moving animals and goods. In fact, they were an important part of the Colosseum. In the ancient grand amphitheater, lions, wolves, leopards, and bears would rise out of seemingly hidden holes in the ground to take part in gladiator battles. Today, we know that this was conducted by a lift system that led up into trap doors. In the Colosseum, there were somewhere between 28 and 30 lifts, and the animals traveled up 23-feet tall wooden shafts before making their appearance. Each lift was designed to transport 600 pounds at once—roughly the weight of two lions—through the use of manpower, much like the Greek elevators. However, to carry such weight, the capstans required eight men to push and pull. Were you aware, if all lifts operated at once, there would be 200 workers operating the machines?

These two examples are that of early lifts, but they differ greatly from what we know today as passenger elevators. The earliest passenger elevator didn't appear until 1743, and it was located outside the king's palace in Versailles. This elevator was designed for King Louis XV and connected the first and second floors of the building. "The Flying Chair," as it was called, linked the king's quarters to those of his mistress. Men stationed inside a chimney operated the Flying Chair, and they used ropes and pulleys to raise and lower the elevator. Similarly, a "flying table" in his retreat château de Choisy allowed the king and his private guests to dine without intrusion from the servants. At the sound of a bell, a table would rise from the kitchen below into the dining room with an elaborate meal, including all of the necessary accoutrements. Some homes have a "dumb waiter" have you seen one in operation?

Elevators, just like many other advances in technology, became far more common in the mid-1800s during the Industrial Revolution. Many of these elevators were based off the hydraulic system, in which a piston inside a cylinder used pressure from water or oil to raise or lower the elevator car. The main drawback with these lifts was that the buildings containing them needed to have pits below the elevator shaft so that the pistons could draw completely back. The higher the building was, the deeper the pit had to be, making this lift type highly impractical. An alternative model to this used a cable system, in which ropes raised and lower the car by means of a pulley and gear system. A counterweight helped to conserve energy. Have you heard an elevator being referred to as a Vertical train prior to this survey?

By the mid-19th century, elevators powered by steam or water were available for sale, but the ropes they relied upon could be worn out or destroyed and were not, therefore, generally trusted for passenger travel. However, in 1852, Elisha Graves Otis invented a safety brake that revolutionized the vertical transport industry. In the event that an elevator's hoisting rope broke, a spring would operate pawls on the car, forcing them into position with racks at the sides of the shaft and suspending the car in place. Installed in a five-story department store in New York City in 1857, Otis' first commercial passenger elevator soon changed the world's skyline, making skyscrapers a practical reality and turning the most valuable real estate on its head—from the first floor to the penthouse. Have you ever needed to exit a skyscraper by the staircase?