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HYDROFIT™ Owner’s Information Manual
WARNING: The use and ownership of this work is defined in the legend upon the front page hereof.
An Otis two-cylinder steam elevator machine and platform were exhibited at the
second world’s fair to be held in the U.S., the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in
Philadelphia. Judges commended Otis for its adaptation of the freight hoist to
passenger elevator and for its attention to safety.
Otis elevators were prominently displayed in 1889 at the Universal Exposition in
Paris. The French government built the Eiffel Tower specifically for the world’s fair
and wanted an all-French monument to represent the construction and technological
expertise. But no French company could overcome the structural demands of
putting elevators inside the tower’s curved legs. Otis Elevator successfully installed
elevators, giving the company a chance to display its product at the fair’s
centerpiece attraction.
Post-Civil War era use of structural steel made it possible to construct taller
buildings. Otis technology kept up with the construction pace during this “Era of the
Skyscraper.”
Otis opened offices in England, France, Canada, Germany, and Belgium, and had
sales agents representing the company throughout the world. Its most famous
elevator installations included the Eiffel Tower, the London Underground, and three
elevators for Russian Emperor Nicholas II’s private quarters in the Kremlin.
1889: Otis Elevators Inside the Curved Legs of the Eiffel Tower
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