Commercial elevators in PA are probably something that you take for granted. But, did you know that elevators have a very long history? It’s natural to think it all started in the early 1900s with the advent of electricity and some guy named Otis. Elisha Graves Otis did indeed start early—he introduced a braking mechanism in 1852. At the time, elevators were used in mines and factories, driven by water pressure. Steam power came along before electricity drove them.
Elevators are ancient. (Some readers are probably smiling, thinking that yes, they ride in one every day…) But they go back to the third century BC.
Likewise today, many people mistake residential elevators as the latest, and some might even say useless development. Commercial elevators in PA and the rest of the country are where it is at. But back in 1929, with a name that trips off the tongue, Clarence Conrad Crispen installed the first one in a home. Today, some are indeed used to flaunt it, just as people used to show off their wealth and status a few decades ago with a cell phone. Today, everyone has a cell phone—most people in the US use smart phones.
Will residential elevators become as common as cell phones? Probably not—installing several tens of millions of them would create quite a backlog for us here at Pincus. And they’ll certainly never be as portable. But alongside commercial elevators in PA, residential ones are becoming essential—as a means to extend independent living, and as a feature that helps a home’s resale value.
Our own history at Pincus is gradually stretching back in both residential and commercial elevators here in PA. We’ve been installing and maintaining them for over 50 years. What does the future hold? Who knows, but history suggests a long future.
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