She moved into an apartment in Chicago with an elevator that was made illegal. These elevators were made illegal in 1981 under the ASME A17.1 / CSA B44 building codes but if they were installed before this then it is allowed.

This elevator was banned in 1981, so people were surprised it was in her apartment. You put your foot on this lever and hold the up or down button to reach your floor. The numbers on the wall indicate the level, and you have to line it up perfectly before exiting. The elevator was banned due to not having modern security features, but since it was made before 1981, it is grandfathered

38 Comments

  1. Modern U.S. building codes, based on the ASME A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators, require all new elevators to have enclosed shafts, automatic doors with interlocks, emergency brakes, alarms, and accessible controls. Manual freight style elevators with exposed levers and open gates like the one shown no longer meet safety or ADA accessibility standards. Building a new elevator like this today would violate modern regulations and would be prohibited in residential or public use buildings

    cred – @detroitemory, @fruityjuuj on TT

  2. I used to work at a store in Chicago that had a similar elevator, there wasn’t a foot pedal but a big brass line handle that you moved left or right to move the car. Best part was the counterweight(I think I don’t know much about elevators) banging on the car and shaking the whole thing when moving down. This was back in late 2012 and i remember seeing a faded and half ripped off sticker saying something about do not use put there from the city of Chicago or something like that and asked one of the workers and they just said well it’s still functioning lol. This was on north ave in the Humboldt park area

  3. Actually, that footpedals thing you see they had to put that in for a safety feature so people didn’t get too close to the wall or if something falls down it pushes you out of the way

  4. A dead man switch in an elevator is a safety mechanism designed to stop the elevator if the operator is incapacitated or not actively controlling it. It requires continuous human input—typically pressing a button or pedal—to keep the elevator running. If the operator releases the switch (e.g., due to fainting, distraction, or an emergency), the elevator automatically stops to prevent unsafe operation. This feature is common in older or manually operated elevators, ensuring the system halts if the operator cannot maintain control.

  5. Wrong, this is not an apartment elevator. These are factory evaluator used to move car or airplane parts from floor to floor. These one specifically look like they're from Detroits Russle Industrial Center. Looks up photos. This video is incorrect

  6. Scrawny and sickly skinny person, dont know ow if its a man or woman, so I will reffer to it as it.

    What is it doing looking like this?

  7. Definitely some Detroit shit. I know it in my gut. Grandfathered in. 😂 a lot of the buildings downtown were rotting away, and now that hipsters and cool kids are moving in they’ll make the exception for that $3000 a month rent.

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