The state waterfront agency gave its approval Wednesday for the grain elevators along the Buffalo River to be lit up year-round with kinetic lights. The city hopes that the incredibly light show will draw in more tourism and increase jobs throughout Buffalo.

The plan will not only light up the grain elevators, but also the Ohio Street Bridge and underside of the Skyway, creating a one-of-a-kind experience for tourists. Depending on the budget towards the end of construction, the Michigan Street Bridge and General Mills warehouse may also be fitted with a kinetic light show.

If things go as planned, many of the sights along the Buffalo River will be illuminated with a spectacle of kinetic lights. In all, they city hopes to have 14 total grain elevators transformed from eye sores to a huge tourist attraction. The light show will go for 45-minute loops, telling a story about the history of the city. The goal is for the light show to be as successful as a similar project in Quebec City that became a huge hit with tourists and drew in over 200,000 people.

“I think this is a great project, and will really highlight the waterfront’s progress, the history of the grain elevators and their impact on the growth and development of the city of Buffalo.” – Mayor Byron W. Brown

The whole project is estimated to cost about $5 million. They hope to have the whole thing completed by late 2014. When all is said and done, seeing the Buffalo River lit up in such a fashion will prove to be a sight people have not seen anywhere else.

Scott Ashmore of Clintonville, Ohio, has been spending his lunch breaks at the top of the new 1 World Trade Center building. The 51 year old elevator adjuster likes to admire the view of Manhattan and beyond. Ashmore and his fellow union workers have been working diligently to complete the elevators and escalators of the skyscraper.

Ashmore said that the view from the top of the 1,776 foot tall building was unbelievable. “The Statue of Liberty was right down below, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building to the north – you could see 100 miles.” Ashmore is one of thousands of workers who have had the honor to work on 1 World Trade Center.

The $88 million contract for 73 elevators and 11 escalators was awarded to ThyssenKrupp. Hundreds of the company’s employees are working on the project, including Ashmore. “This was the chance of a lifetime. Not many people can say they worked on the World Trade Center,” he said. Ashmore has been working with elevators since he graduated from high school in 1979. He followed in his father’s footsteps, who also worked in elevator construction.

The project includes five express elevators that will travel about 2,000 feet per minute, or 23 miles per hour. This makes the express elevators of 1 WTC the fastest in the United States. Even with their incredible speed, they are expected to give a smooth ride. “They have a lot of innovation,” said Joe Braman, ThyssenKrupp’s vice president for new equipment. “At that speed, they require aerodynamic shrouding, like when you design a wing on the back of a car.” The elevators also have systems in place that prevent swaying during storms.

Ashmore said that the elevators are all based on counterweight systems. The counterweight, which hangs opposite of the elevator cab, must equal 50 percent of the weight of a fully loaded elevator car. Each elevator also has a safety cable connected to a governor. This is a safety measure that automatically puts on the brakes and disconnects all the circuits to the motors if the elevator overspeeds.

The elevators will also use destination dispatching instead of elevator buttons. This will allow you to register for the floor you want to go to from the lobby on a touch screen television monitor. It will then direct you to which elevator you will be taking.

Ashmore has returned home from his work at 1 WTC, but hopes he will be asked back to work again in the future.

The first reference to an elevator was actually in the mid-200s BC. Some of the first findings of elevators were cabs on a hemp rope that were powered by hand or by animals. We have come a long when since then. Elevators are now common and some people even have them in their homes. So how did the elevators we know today come to be?

Early Elevators

Elevators really started to take shape back in the mid-19th century. They were used in coal mines to move goods in bulk and operated with steam power. In 1823, an “ascending room” was built in London as a tourist attraction. They were able to elevate paying customers to a panoramic view of the city. 12 years later, a belt driven elevator with a counterweight called the “Teagle” was developed in England.

Elisha Otis

In 1852, Elisha Otis introduced the safety elevator. It prevented the fall of the cab if the cable broke. A governor device engages knurled rollers, locking the elevator to its guides if the elevator starts to descend at excessive speed. A very similar design is still used today. On March 23, 1857 the first Otis passenger elevator was installed at 488 Broadway in New York City. Today, the Otis Elevator Company is a part of United Technologies Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of vertical transport systems.

Advancement in the Elevator

The Equitable Life Building was completed in 1870 in New York City and was the first office building to feature passenger elevators. Ten years later in 1880, Werner von Siemens would invent the first electric elevator in Germany. The safety and speed of electric elevators would be significantly enhanced by Frank Sprague. He would add floor control, automatic elevators, acceleration control or cars, and safeties. Sprague’s electric elevator was able to run faster and with larger loads than hydraulic or steam elevators. He would later sell his elevator company to Otis in 1895.

The development of elevators was due to the need for movement of raw material like coal and lumber from hillsides. The technology that was developed from this need would provide the passenger and freight elevators that we use today.

It happens every day. Visitors and employees in healthcare facilities wait for the elevator only to find that a patient bed is occupying it when the doors open. Not only is this annoying for those waiting for the elevator, but now the patient has to wait longer to get to the operating room or other destination.

For the patient in the bed, the constant opening of the elevator door when no one can enter can be embarrassing. If people do decide to cram in the elevator car around the bed, the patient could feel even more awkward. The system used at every hospital is not efficient and there needs to be a way to eliminate the unneeded elevator stops.

CEDES has created a solution to this problem. The system uses sensors that identify that there is a patient bed on board and the elevator will go to the desired floors with no stops. The simple, yet effective, system uses three TPS sensors in the ceiling of an elevator and an evaluation unit mounted on its roof.

The triangulation sensors monitor the inside of the elevator car and emit two independent beams. This allows the sensors to distinguish between passengers and beds – based on the differences in height. Once a bed is detected, the sensors tell the elevator controls to send the elevator car directly to the floor pressed. This eliminates any unnecessary stoppages along the way.

The TPS bed detection system increases privacy and comfort for hospital patients who are bed-bound and traveling between floors. No key switch, transponder card, or destination selection control is necessary with this system. This new elevator technology will make hospital elevators more efficient for everyone.

Many people think of elevators as just a way to get from one floor to another. In many building throughout the world, elevators are also unique centerpieces that catch the eye. Many businesses spend the extra money to go above and beyond to have an elevator that is unique to their building. Here are some of the best looking, and sometimes odd, elevators from around the globe.

Hammetchwant Lift, Switzerland

This breathtaking elevator, or lift as they say everywhere but the U.S., is the highest exterior elevator in all of Europe. It takes riders along a rock path between Lake Lucerne and the Hammetschwand lookout point above, creating amazing views.

Falkirk Wheel, Scotland

Not all elevators are for people!! This giant elevator was built in 2002 to transport boats between two canals. It is the only rotating boat elevator in the whole world!

Globen SkyView, Stockholm

The people of Sweden and tourists can enjoy taking a ride in a gondola made of glass that takes them over the largest spherical building in the world. The elevator takes the riders 426 feet above sea level and gives them a spectacular view of Stockholm.

Bailong, Zhangjiajie, China

This incredible outdoor elevator was built into a cliff. Riders take the elevator up 1,000 feet and get to view quartzite sandstone pillars.

Mercedes-Benz Museum Elevators, Germany

At this museum in Stuttgart, there is automotive memorabilia and one of the most unique looking elevator cabs. Sleek, pill-shaped elevator cabs bring passengers up the atrium to the roof.

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