MUST WATCH!! VERY RARE 1914 PULL THE ROPE & Constant Pressure Manual Otis Elevators in Cleveland, OH

Filmed on October 27th, 2023 with ‎@geneseetrainselevators2448 .
Haughton Week and Alex's (aka Genessee Trains & Elevators) Birthday may be over, but that doesn't mean EPIC elevator videos with him are. We're FAR from that! This trip I went on late last year was a trip of MANY firsts when it comes to EPIC & VERY RARE elevator discoveries, but if you had to ask what the COOLEST thing I saw on this trip was, it would be THIS!!!
On this trip, I got to ride & OPERATE my VERY FIRST PULL THE ROPE ELEVATOR EVER and OMG I NEVER THOUGHT I'D EVER GET THE CHANCE TO!!! But INDEED I DID and I'm definitely glad I did as these kinds of elevators are EXTINCT in MANY States due to Safety Regulations! As a result, not many of these remain and the majority of the ones that do are located in Midwest Rust Belt Cities such as Cleveland!
This elevator is located in a Historic Factory/Industrial Building built in 1914, and in addition to the AMAZING PULL THE ROPE Elevators, this building also houses Multiple (4 to be exact) Constant Pressure Manual Otis Freight Elevators! Unfortunately due to a lack of time, I only got to ride one of them, but I'm still glad I saw one of them and while the Constant Pressure Manual Otis was also AMAZING, it DOESN'T COMPARE ONE BIT to the ULTRA MEGA EXTREMELY RARE Elevator that is the PULL THE ROPE and that is what made the stop at this building a priority!
I have to give a HUGE THANKS to the operator of it for giving me and Alex permission to ride the elevators here and even more so for letting us OPERATE the VERY RARE BEAST of an elevator that is this PULL the ROPE!
This very elevator and the gentleman running it TRULY made a my trip one I'll never forget and hopefully nothing here ever changes!
This elevator is BY FAR one of the most exciting ones I've seen in a VERY long time and words CANNOT describe how amazing the feeling was once the elevator started moving after pulling the rope!
Due to the fact building staff let me in here and let me ride/operate the elevators here and due to the potential dangers associated with operating the elevators here, I will be keeping this location undisclosed for safety & liability reasons along with respect to the owners/staff of the building. For those of you who have NEVER operated a Pull the Rope Elevator and don't know how to, DO NOT operate them!!! You could be very seriously injured! I operated this elevator once the operator showed me how to safely do so.
And with that all being said, I hope you enjoy the video of what is WITHOUT A DOUBT the MOST AMAZING Elevator Experience I've EVER had to date riding one of the RAREST & COOLEST Elevators I've EVER been on to date!
Installed in 1914.
Camera details:
Sony Handycam AX-43
Mic: Built In
(c) 2024 Floridian Elevators Productions

[@upanddownadventures]

This building has 5 freight elevators, only one of which is pull rope operated? Believe it or not, pull-rope freight elevators were still being installed in the early 1920s, if not even later. I don't know about this one specifically, but on some of these pull rope elevators, there would be a pair of "stops" on the rope for each floor, and I think the device the rope passes through can be used to stop on intermediate floors. I definitely agree with the statement of not operating one of these if you don't know what you are doing... very old freight elevators that have not been retrofitted with modern safety devices can be VERY dangerous if not used correctly, for multiple different reasons. I would consider these types of elevators endangered. I have no idea how many survive, but from my research I would estimate they are illegal in around half of the US states if not more, and out of the remaining states that haven't outlawed them, they are extinct or near extinct in many of them. I can agree... I love these things so much. They are incredible pieces of history in my opinion.

[@TheTheo58]

An amazing fright elevator still in service was built to last, has been well oiled and maintained. The pull rope probably has a capacity of 10,000 or 12,000 #'s + with the 2:1 roping Along with the two block compensating sheave on the cab and counterweight. The smaller push button likely is 2:1 but with a single sheave top of cab and on counterweight.

[@747sooner]

Vintage 1914 Pull-the-rope Otis Freight Elevators - Undisclosed Location, Cleveland OH