Curved Escalators, Penthouse Elevators, Giant Wheels, and Other Sweet Ways New Yorkers Get Up and Down

If you thought elevators were sad little boxes where strangers go to avoid eye contact with each other, think again. Ferris Wheels, parachute jump rides, dumbwaiters and giant freight elevators are all included in New York City's survey of vertical transportation options. And, as you'd expect, the city isn't short on ways to move up and down. 

There are 62,000 passenger elevators in the city, according to the Department of Buildings' new interactive project, Elevator Report 2017. The runner-up, Los Angeles, only has 25,000. Here are a few of our favorite examples of New York City's elevator supremacy—past, present and future.

The Waterman Freight Elevator

(Harper's Magazine/Google Books)

Built in 1850, this open-air freight elevator moved supplies up and down in Henry Waterman's factory on Duane Street.

Marjorie Merriweather Post Hutton's Penthouse Elevator 

1107 5th Ave

(Google Maps)

In 1925, George Fuller built a private elevator for Ms. Hutton's triplex. It was the first of many private elevators to come in New York City.

Parachute Jump, Coney Island 

(AP Photo)

The Parachute Jump was originally built for the 1939 World's Fair, then moved to Coney Island in 1941. Thrill-seekers could ride up the jump, then simulate falling from 250 feet!

The Curved Escalator at Bloomberg Tower

(Bloomberg/Facebook)

The first curved escalator in North America, made by Mitsubishi, was installed at Bloomberg Tower in 2005. 

The Moving Display Room

That red box in there moves up and down.

(Christopher Weaver/Flickr)

The Sperone Westwater Gallery installed a moving display room in 2010.