Book 3, Question 60
Why Do Buildings Have Elevators?
An elevator is a moving room that climbs a shaft. So people don't have to walk up 40 flights of stairs! A control brain picks the next floor.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 3
More fun facts
- The first passenger elevator, powered by steam, was installed in 1857 in the Haughwout Building on Broadway in New York City.
- The Empire State Building has 73 elevators.
- Elevators in Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, travel at up to 60 kilometers per hour.
- Most buildings taller than four stories use traction elevators.
- Some new elevators capture energy as they move and feed it back into the building's power supply.
Sources: BBC, Scientific American
Questions kids ask
When was the first passenger elevator?
The first steam-powered passenger elevator was installed in New York City in 1857.