nyc street elevators
All these years living in New York I still discover a few things while walking down the street, things I had assimilated long ago but failed to notice anymore. The inner workings of the city have always held my interest, I photographed water towers a number of years ago, just sitting on top of buildings, providing new yorkers with proper water pressure. I knew about service elevators, but not about these, the street ones. They are mostly for freight, but a few are private, taking you up in the middle of your living room from the sidewalk. Others are used as wheelchair access if there is no room for a ramp. But overall, when their doors are closed, they look like curtains in front of a stage, where you hope to catch a glimpse of what is going on backstage.
An elevator in New York is business as usual, the service elevators are hidden behind outer doors, sharing the shaft with the passenger lifts. Downtown around Soho and Tribeca, some are conveniently located so their door open right onto the sidewalk. Trucks may park on the street in front, this is why the hollow sidewalk sign was made, and get ready to deliver or pick up to and from any floor within minutes. I found sixty such useful machines so far, here are some of them to show the beauty and efficiency of their purpose, giving a quick look at the behind-the-scenes of the working city, with service elevators open 9-5, or by special appointment only.
