After the lack of elevators in the country where the skyscraper was born there are eye-watering costs. A basic four-stop elevator costs about $158,000 in New York City, compared to $36,000 in Switzerland. A six-stop model will set you back more than three times in Pennsylvania than in Belgium. Maintenance, repairs, and inspections are all very expensive in America.
The first thing to note about our elevators is that, like most things in America, they are big. New elevators outside the US are usually sized to accommodate a person in a large wheelchair and a person standing behind them. American elevators have ballooned to about twice that size, driven by drip-drip-drip rules, each motivated by slightly different concerns — first accessibility, then ambulance berths, then even greater amenities.
Here’s more from Stephen Smith of the NYT.
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