Because passenger lifts are such a ubiquitous part of society that many people interact with every day, it can be difficult to conceive of a time when lift operators were a necessary profession to ensure people could comfortably traverse buildings.
The lift operator is an almost extinct profession today, but from the late 19th century until the mid-point of the 20th century, they were such a fundamentally important part of the lift experience that to this day, a calming voice stating the floor and direction of the lift is still found in nearly every building.
Initially, this was because lifts were manually operated and a liftman or lift girl needed to carefully manage the speed, stop and open the doors at the right time, but they also served the purpose of being friendly, informative greeters and guides.
Ironically enough, they started to disappear as soon as their importance reached its peak in the wake of several waves of “elevator strikes”
There were several waves of strikes in 1920, 1925, 1935 and 1945, the latter of which brought New York City to a standstill.
Initially, untrained tenants ran the lifts, which went so poorly that many people refused to use lifts for years afterwards, opting instead to walk up and down hundreds of flights of stairs.
Following the binding arbitration agreement, following the intervention of then-governor Thomas Dewey, manufacturers started to incorporate an increasing number of safety and security features, as much to soothe passenger fears as to guarantee safe operation.
By 1950, a completely automated lift was installed in Dallas, Texas, which allowed for a passenger to choose their destination with the push of a button, stop the lift at any time if they felt in danger and use an emergency telephone or alarm to call for help.
Eventually, a friendly voice would explain the floor passengers were on, fulfilling nearly every feature the lift operator used to undertake, making people feel safe and providing them with confidence to use one of the world’s safest forms of transport.