"Drop the Monkey" - Early Elevator Testing Methods

   In trying to determine the "when" and "wheres" for the earliest use of a passenger elevator in the Baltimore City, I ran across some quite odd practices for how passenger elevators were tested by designers in the late 1800's and early 1900's providing safety assurances to building architects, owners, inspectors, and the riding public.  

   Many of the earliest passenger elevators in Baltimore were hydraulic and designed with safety features consisting of attached air cushions (air tight walls of concrete and sheet iron fitted with release compression valves) invented by Franklin T. Ellithorpe.  Mr. Ellithorpe made a practice of proving the safety of his invention, sometimes risking life and breaking limbs in doing so even until the mid 1920s.

  According to several early Baltimore Sun newspaper articles, it became a common practice to free-fall drop elevator cars containing seemingly perishable items and even life forms.

•  When passenger elevators were installed in the Equitable building (late 1800s), the safety air cushion was tested by a drop from the ninth floor of an elevator car containing: "a glass of water and a number of eggs placed on the floor of the car."
• By 1900, tests became more stringent such that a new Courthouse had a rather unsuccessful safety air cushion test drop from the top floor with an elevator car containing: "a dozen eggs and four glasses of water."  Result: 4 eggs broken and while water was spilled, no glasses were broken. 
• Also in 1900, the Calvert Building had a successful safety air cushion test drop of nearly 200 feet (12th floor) with an elevator car containing: "15 eggs, several glasses of water and two incandescent electric light bulbs."  Result Reported: spilled water from one glass, eggs broken by falling plaster, but no electric light bulbs broken.

  From that point in time, there had been several accidents, crushing deaths, and near deaths not only in Baltimore but in other major cities and it became apparent that stricter testing was necessary.

• In 1902, the Baltimore Sun's special dispatch to Washington DC reported on the U.S. Patent Office building's successful safety air cushion test drop of 50 feet with an elevator containing: "a live monkey, a half dozen eggs and two dozen light globes."  Result: Monkey frightened but unhurt, no light bulbs broken, one cracked egg.
• Apparently, a testing in Baltimore required a little higher class of testing so in1905, the Calvert Building underwent a repeated safety air cushion test drop from the same height with an elevator car only this time it contained: "six long-stemmed wineglasses filled with water and a half dozen eggs in glasses."  Result Reported: fully successful with no injuries to the contents.

  Interestingly, as noted in a Baltimore Sun article in 1913, Mr. F.T. Ellithorpe continued these tests and actually was the test occupant in a 372 foot drop test in Philadelphia public building elevators.  It was further noted that planned testing for the largest skyscraper at that time, New York City's Woolworth Building, was to be tested in the similar manners as Baltimore's Calvert and Equitable buildings by Mr. Ellithorpe - perhaps he chickened out for the Wooolworth's 676 foot drop?

  Oh by the way, I'm still trying to determine when and where in Baltimore the first passenger elevator was set into operation.  Earliest accounts seem to suggest it that it was the Carrollton Hotel erected in 1872 that the distinction of first passenger elevator for its guests and the Banking House of John A. Hambleton & Co., erected in 1874, for commercial purposes.  The latter is depicted in this blog post.

(Note: Article sources are courtesy of The Baltimore Sun.)