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Here’s an interesting bit of New York history. It appears as if the very first elevator shaft was constructed in NYC, in the CooperUnionFoundationBuilding. It was, in fact, constructed before there was even a world’s first elevator. The man that built the structure (back in the 1850s) was very much convinced that a working elevator would be invented at any moment. So he had a shaft worked into his building plans.

Unfortunately, when a practical elevator was finally invented, it turned out to be square. Cooper’s shaft, however, was round. Needless to say, it was a bit of a kick in the butt for this future-seeing individual. Still, the evidence of the world’s first elevator shaft remains, a symbol of NYC’s ability to plan ahead.

Photo courtesy of DieAlraune via Wikicommons