First safety elevator (lift)

The world's first safety elevator for passengers was designed by Elisha Graves Otis (USA) and demonstrated in the New York Crystal Palace buiding at "Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations", USA, in 1854. It was first installed in a permanent building at the E.V. Haughwout emporium, 488-492 Broadway, New York, USA, in 1857. The first office building to have passenger elevators was the Equitable Life Building, New York, USA, in 1870.

Halfway through his demonstration at the New York Crystal Palace, Otis asked his assistant to sever the elevator cable. The lift dropped only a few inches, the ratchet fail-safe feature held firm, and Otis' design soon became the worldwide standard. Born in Halifax, Vermont, Otis began work on his 'safety elevator' when asked to move equipment into the warehouse of his employer, a New York bed manufacturer. Otis refined existing elevators of the time, which were unreliable and dangerous, with a toothed guide-rail, which held the car in place even if the elevator cable broke.