That’s the first time in a while I’ve heard that a building owner wants to preserve the older elevators. These are absolutely astonishing & im so glad they still have time.
Yeah, major hats off to the management here. Even better, while all the other elevators here have received fixture mods over the years, they are also all still on their original controllers and everything else.
@@elevatorsoflakecountyTV that’s great how they kept the original controllers. It’s a sign that they improved everything they could while also keeping the originality.
I can't watch a single video of these without thinking about "YOU'RE NOT TENANTS HERE, YEAH GOODBYE." Needless to say they ran well when I visited last summer, glad to hear that they are staying for a while.
And in such good shape... they can keep these going for a lot longer if they really want to. And the touch-sensitive buttons bring back so many memories. Is the service elevator the only one to get to the 28th floor?
Thanks for posting!! I am an elevator mechanic working in Denver. Here is a link to a video of the machine room for these exact elevators! One of our other mechanics shot this before TKE was awarded the maintenance contract: ua-cam.com/users/shortsUMnxfiStAIA
That’s absolutely amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing this. I have been wanting to see what that motor room looks like for ages, such beautiful equipment. If I recall those are 77 machines and 81UAL controllers. I could think of a million questions I have for you, as an elevator mechanic in Denver; haha. Did you work on the adjacent building, 633 17th as well? I’m pretty sure those are all running on their original Otis relay logic as well (73U and 65U controllers apparently).
I'm so glad you liked it! Credit for that video actually goes to one of our Service Techs. He shot that a year or so ago before TKE was awarded the maintenance contract; so alas, I am not able to see them personally at this time. I only entered the industry less than a year ago. Therefore, I am not completely up on the older model numbers. I am not certain about 633 - I will have to certainly check that out! ;-) I grew up in the 1980's (the Elevonic "era") where SCR's and microprocessors replaced the gensets and relay logic that had worked so well for over 100 years. Progress sucks, sometimes... The issue arises when the "big four" (Otis, TKE, Kone, and Schindler) simply no longer have access to adequate parts for these ancient units - they would either need used parts from a similar decommissioned unit (a liability for the company) or reproduced in manufacturing (installing completely new elevators would cost far less than custom manufacturing replacement parts). There are aftermarket parts suppliers; however, they are becoming few and far between. Also, keep in mind that ALL elevators in Colorado (and in every other state that I am aware) must be inspected every few years to ascertain their safe operation. Unfortunately, there comes a point when a necessary part will fail that cannot be economically replaced - and the State of Colorado will not re-license it for operation until it is brought up to modern code. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule: The Empire State Building in New York, for example, has been modded six times throughout its life. However, only the controllers/gensets have been replaced with microprocessors and SCR's. Everything else the public sees - the cabs, doors, concourse lanterns, panels, etc. (as well as the drive machines) are all absolutely original to what Otis installed when that building was built in 1932. In fact, Otis had to painstakingly design the controllers to work specifically with the old hardware. They worked very closely with the building owner, City and State of New York, and FDNY to balance modern safety with historical preservation. The Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, and Singer Building are other examples of this. That being said, 621 17th Street isn't exactly an "historical enough" building, I fear, to warrant that extreme expense. It breaks my heart saying this, but facts are facts: Eventually, it all comes down to the money. For now, those units should be good to go for another 20+ years, considering their current condition. So long as DFD continues to renew their license every five years, we (and our future generations) will continue to enjoy the pride and experience of a machine that has lasted nearly 3/4-a-century - a testament to American engineering and the skill and pride of the men and women who built, installed, and continue to maintain it. 🙂 Truth be told, I actually find the older equipment fascinating! Most of the other mechanics hate it, as you get downright filthy working on the older stuff. That, and there are hazards specific to them, such as asbestos, carbon dust, lead, etc. Indeed, I enjoy servicing older equipment more so than the newer stuff. [Between us, I absolutely DESPISE working on MRL's - where the drive is located atop the shaft. Thankfully, they have proven quite reliable. But they lack that certain "je ne sais quoi" of traditional traction units. As for hydros, well... They are dirty, leaky, slow, and just plain boring, IMHO. But they are the workhorses. :-P] Whatever. I am just grateful to be able to work in this industry! :-D @@elevatorsoflakecountyTV
On the subject of the Otis Autotronics, it is absolutely amazing just how far ahead of their time they actually were! The lobby station (the large panel in the lobby with the frozen clock) exists because these units were installed at a time when the public was still a bit "uneasy" of fully automatic elevators (as opposed to being manually controlled by a human elevator operator). That panel allowed the building superintendent to hire one operator per bank of elevators. You could adjust the elevators' operation from the lobby, monitor traffic and call control, and set them to various express modes either manually, or via automated schedule (that is, if the clock still worked! ;-P) Now, they are simply set to operate in fully automated bi-directional mode - like most every other elevator in the world. But, you could absolutely control it manually from the lobby! Let's say it's 1600 hours on a weekday. The operator in the lobby could force one (or a number of) units to operate in "Express-to-Top Mode" in an effort to more quickly empty the building during the evening commute. In this mode, the commanded cars would ignore all concourse calls in the up direction, focusing instead on the down calls only. The cars would travel to the highest serviced floor with a down call, then answer calls on the return trip to the lobby. Usually, one or two cars would be set to "Express-to-Lobby Mode", where they would operate in the reverse, allowing the tenants that remain and must navigate other floors in the building to do so should they need to. This operation was especially useful for office plazas and hotels, where there is a predictable traffic pattern at specific times of the day. And, you could manually control each car from the interior of the cab. For example, there was an interesting moment in the video where the directional indicator (the aqua-colored "up" arrow) remained lit after the doors closed and the car sat idle. This indicates that the dispatch controller (the controller that links all the cars together in a collective bank) has assigned that specific car to operate in the up direction only. Up in the machine room, this caused the "pie plate" on the selector for the current level to "drop," thereby starting the genset and preparing the car to leave that floor. That is why the car immediately took-off with authority once he (the photographer) later selected a level - the drive system was already queued-up and ready to go! The car would remain idle until someone called the elevator to go up from a landing, a higher level than current is selected from the car panel, or the genset timed-out and went to "sleep." ...Or... The photographer opened the service panel and pressed "U" (U=Up D=Down) which extinguished the DI. By pressing that button, it told the controller to expect to enter manual operation - that there is now a human in manual control of the car (Independent Service) - thereby releasing it from its assignment. However, because the IS Key was still set to "Collective Mode" it returned to fully automated service once a level was in selection. Had the key been in Independent Mode, the car would move in the direction of the button pressed. All concourse calls would be ignored, but WOULD flash the corresponding button on the car selection panel, indicating to the operator that someone has called the elevator in that direction and from that specific landing. Another fascinating feature of these units is the fact that they do not use "buttons" on the car panel at all! Think of an iPhone screen - selections are made by detecting capacitance. That is, the circuit is completed once an electrically conductive material generating a quasi-electric field (the human body) comes within close proximity of that specific zone on the screen. These Autotronics use gas-filled tubes behind an aluminum plate (the "button" with the floor number emblazoned on it). That aluminum plate serves as an anode in the small vacuum tube located behind the plate. A high-voltage DC current is passed between the cathode and the electrode. When a human finger nears the plate, it generates a minute current allowing the electrons to overcome the resistance of the gas, allowing the electrons to flow from the cathode, past the anode, and terminating at the electrode thereby completing the circuit. This "button" is surrounded by an acrylic square "halo" that serves to indicate that level is now in selection once a standard light bulb is illuminated inside the assembly. The landing call buttons work identically using this method. They simply are in an art deco style showing UP or DOWN. Indeed, next time you come across an Autotronic with this feature (most of them have it), slowly move your finger to the button you wish to select. The voltage feeding the cathode can be adjusted, thus increasing or decreasing selection sensitivity. If adjusted properly, selection should occur when your finger is about 2mm from the button! This is done to compensate for passengers who are wearing gloves. :-P@@elevatorsoflakecountyTV
Stop and think about what I just typed, here: Your iPhone screen uses a method of control that was deployed by Otis HALF-A-CENTURY before the iPhone was even a thought! And, each of the automated operating modes depicted above was possible using vacuum tubes and mechanical relays! Nowadays, of course, this is all done by typing in a little bit of code. However, stop and think that this was all possible back in 1948 (the year the Autotronic model was introduced by Otis) - decades before computers were commonplace! Imagine the skill the engineers at Otis had back then when they designed this thing! I think that is pretty effing amazing! Finally, I know you have a few "elevator groupies" here in the Denver Metro Area, as there are several videos from central Colorado on your channel. That being said, give them a little advice: If they are interested in antique equipment that is still in operation, take a 2-hour drive down to Pueblo. That town has SEVERAL units from before the 1970's that have yet to be modded. Therefore, they should come across some decent "finds" down there! ;-) Also check out the Broadmoor Hotel down in the Springs. Most of them have been modded; however, they do have some very interesting TKE units there. In closing, let's keep in touch, fer sure! I plan to keep making "back of the house" videos when I come across interesting equipment and posting them onto my channel. And, if you folks are ever around Denver, LMK if y'all want to get together and chat sometime. Elevators are my passion and I am only too happy to share that passion with those who are interested. Also, please LMK any special requests of what y'all would like to see in operation. After all, I would much rather eventually get you your footage as a trained mechanic instead of you risking yourselves in dangerous environments. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stay out of the machine rooms and hoistways. I probably don't need to tell y'all that - but it needs to be said. There are things in there (for which I am certain you are aware) that expose you to heavy, fast-moving equipment, falls, and 480 VAC (and, in some locations, 600 VAC). Just sayin'... ;-) PS: Sorry for the enormous novel here, but I figured you'd appreciate it nonetheless. ;-P@@elevatorsoflakecountyTV
@@UncleOtis_Colorado thank you so much for taking the time to write all that. I found it all incredibly interesting. I absolutely love to learn how these primitive automatic high rise systems worked, they’re so different from what we have today, and they are so rare to come across now. The touch sensitive “buttons” are so neat, I even managed to get a couple similar (same touch-sensitive Otis technology but with the circular buttons) fixture assemblies from an Otis mechanic I know in Chicago, since he has a residential gig at a building where he was modding a bunch of high rise cars with those buttons. I managed to hook up 120VAC to the tubes, which is enough to get the tubes to activate and light up when I put my finger on them; and of course in turn I put the wired tubes behind the “button” plate and I have a working fixture assembly! It’s so neat, and such a shame that they’re so hard to come by (although I understand the reasons why). And my friends and I will absolutely have to go down to Pueblo and the Springs to check that stuff out. That sounds real neat. And we’re in Denver for most of the school year, and we’re more than happy to chat with you and hear more, so I’d be more than happy to follow up on that front.
That’s the first time in a while I’ve heard that a building owner wants to preserve the older elevators. These are absolutely astonishing & im so glad they still have time.
Yeah, major hats off to the management here. Even better, while all the other elevators here have received fixture mods over the years, they are also all still on their original controllers and everything else.
@@elevatorsoflakecountyTV that’s great how they kept the original controllers. It’s a sign that they improved everything they could while also keeping the originality.
Those are some beautiful OTIS Autotronics!
EPIC! It's nice to hear that they are trying their best to keep these original.
Damn! I was amazed these were still here 20 years ago! ❤️❗
Next time when I come to Denver, I would love to see this elevator
I can't watch a single video of these without thinking about "YOU'RE NOT TENANTS HERE, YEAH GOODBYE."
Needless to say they ran well when I visited last summer, glad to hear that they are staying for a while.
Glad to hear these things are still alive!
Wish that elevators in my home country would be preserved like that...
always glad to hear when management tells you they really care about preservation
those are amazing!
Nice find
Bummer... just came back from a ski trip in the Denver area on Monday, I wish I would have checked these out!
And in such good shape... they can keep these going for a lot longer if they really want to. And the touch-sensitive buttons bring back so many memories. Is the service elevator the only one to get to the 28th floor?
@@SpiderCollector000 there is also a car at the top that goes between 25 and 28 (or whatever that upper office space is)
Nice
Perhaps the building management is caring more about elevator enthusiasm.
Thanks for posting!! I am an elevator mechanic working in Denver. Here is a link to a video of the machine room for these exact elevators! One of our other mechanics shot this before TKE was awarded the maintenance contract:
ua-cam.com/users/shortsUMnxfiStAIA
That’s absolutely amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing this. I have been wanting to see what that motor room looks like for ages, such beautiful equipment. If I recall those are 77 machines and 81UAL controllers. I could think of a million questions I have for you, as an elevator mechanic in Denver; haha. Did you work on the adjacent building, 633 17th as well? I’m pretty sure those are all running on their original Otis relay logic as well (73U and 65U controllers apparently).
I'm so glad you liked it! Credit for that video actually goes to one of our Service Techs. He shot that a year or so ago before TKE was awarded the maintenance contract; so alas, I am not able to see them personally at this time. I only entered the industry less than a year ago. Therefore, I am not completely up on the older model numbers. I am not certain about 633 - I will have to certainly check that out! ;-) I grew up in the 1980's (the Elevonic "era") where SCR's and microprocessors replaced the gensets and relay logic that had worked so well for over 100 years. Progress sucks, sometimes...
The issue arises when the "big four" (Otis, TKE, Kone, and Schindler) simply no longer have access to adequate parts for these ancient units - they would either need used parts from a similar decommissioned unit (a liability for the company) or reproduced in manufacturing (installing completely new elevators would cost far less than custom manufacturing replacement parts). There are aftermarket parts suppliers; however, they are becoming few and far between. Also, keep in mind that ALL elevators in Colorado (and in every other state that I am aware) must be inspected every few years to ascertain their safe operation. Unfortunately, there comes a point when a necessary part will fail that cannot be economically replaced - and the State of Colorado will not re-license it for operation until it is brought up to modern code.
There are, of course, exceptions to this rule: The Empire State Building in New York, for example, has been modded six times throughout its life. However, only the controllers/gensets have been replaced with microprocessors and SCR's. Everything else the public sees - the cabs, doors, concourse lanterns, panels, etc. (as well as the drive machines) are all absolutely original to what Otis installed when that building was built in 1932. In fact, Otis had to painstakingly design the controllers to work specifically with the old hardware. They worked very closely with the building owner, City and State of New York, and FDNY to balance modern safety with historical preservation. The Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, and Singer Building are other examples of this.
That being said, 621 17th Street isn't exactly an "historical enough" building, I fear, to warrant that extreme expense. It breaks my heart saying this, but facts are facts: Eventually, it all comes down to the money. For now, those units should be good to go for another 20+ years, considering their current condition. So long as DFD continues to renew their license every five years, we (and our future generations) will continue to enjoy the pride and experience of a machine that has lasted nearly 3/4-a-century - a testament to American engineering and the skill and pride of the men and women who built, installed, and continue to maintain it. 🙂
Truth be told, I actually find the older equipment fascinating! Most of the other mechanics hate it, as you get downright filthy working on the older stuff. That, and there are hazards specific to them, such as asbestos, carbon dust, lead, etc. Indeed, I enjoy servicing older equipment more so than the newer stuff. [Between us, I absolutely DESPISE working on MRL's - where the drive is located atop the shaft. Thankfully, they have proven quite reliable. But they lack that certain "je ne sais quoi" of traditional traction units. As for hydros, well... They are dirty, leaky, slow, and just plain boring, IMHO. But they are the workhorses. :-P] Whatever. I am just grateful to be able to work in this industry! :-D @@elevatorsoflakecountyTV
On the subject of the Otis Autotronics, it is absolutely amazing just how far ahead of their time they actually were! The lobby station (the large panel in the lobby with the frozen clock) exists because these units were installed at a time when the public was still a bit "uneasy" of fully automatic elevators (as opposed to being manually controlled by a human elevator operator). That panel allowed the building superintendent to hire one operator per bank of elevators. You could adjust the elevators' operation from the lobby, monitor traffic and call control, and set them to various express modes either manually, or via automated schedule (that is, if the clock still worked! ;-P) Now, they are simply set to operate in fully automated bi-directional mode - like most every other elevator in the world. But, you could absolutely control it manually from the lobby!
Let's say it's 1600 hours on a weekday. The operator in the lobby could force one (or a number of) units to operate in "Express-to-Top Mode" in an effort to more quickly empty the building during the evening commute. In this mode, the commanded cars would ignore all concourse calls in the up direction, focusing instead on the down calls only. The cars would travel to the highest serviced floor with a down call, then answer calls on the return trip to the lobby. Usually, one or two cars would be set to "Express-to-Lobby Mode", where they would operate in the reverse, allowing the tenants that remain and must navigate other floors in the building to do so should they need to. This operation was especially useful for office plazas and hotels, where there is a predictable traffic pattern at specific times of the day.
And, you could manually control each car from the interior of the cab. For example, there was an interesting moment in the video where the directional indicator (the aqua-colored "up" arrow) remained lit after the doors closed and the car sat idle. This indicates that the dispatch controller (the controller that links all the cars together in a collective bank) has assigned that specific car to operate in the up direction only. Up in the machine room, this caused the "pie plate" on the selector for the current level to "drop," thereby starting the genset and preparing the car to leave that floor. That is why the car immediately took-off with authority once he (the photographer) later selected a level - the drive system was already queued-up and ready to go!
The car would remain idle until someone called the elevator to go up from a landing, a higher level than current is selected from the car panel, or the genset timed-out and went to "sleep." ...Or... The photographer opened the service panel and pressed "U" (U=Up D=Down) which extinguished the DI. By pressing that button, it told the controller to expect to enter manual operation - that there is now a human in manual control of the car (Independent Service) - thereby releasing it from its assignment. However, because the IS Key was still set to "Collective Mode" it returned to fully automated service once a level was in selection. Had the key been in Independent Mode, the car would move in the direction of the button pressed. All concourse calls would be ignored, but WOULD flash the corresponding button on the car selection panel, indicating to the operator that someone has called the elevator in that direction and from that specific landing.
Another fascinating feature of these units is the fact that they do not use "buttons" on the car panel at all! Think of an iPhone screen - selections are made by detecting capacitance. That is, the circuit is completed once an electrically conductive material generating a quasi-electric field (the human body) comes within close proximity of that specific zone on the screen. These Autotronics use gas-filled tubes behind an aluminum plate (the "button" with the floor number emblazoned on it). That aluminum plate serves as an anode in the small vacuum tube located behind the plate. A high-voltage DC current is passed between the cathode and the electrode. When a human finger nears the plate, it generates a minute current allowing the electrons to overcome the resistance of the gas, allowing the electrons to flow from the cathode, past the anode, and terminating at the electrode thereby completing the circuit.
This "button" is surrounded by an acrylic square "halo" that serves to indicate that level is now in selection once a standard light bulb is illuminated inside the assembly. The landing call buttons work identically using this method. They simply are in an art deco style showing UP or DOWN. Indeed, next time you come across an Autotronic with this feature (most of them have it), slowly move your finger to the button you wish to select. The voltage feeding the cathode can be adjusted, thus increasing or decreasing selection sensitivity. If adjusted properly, selection should occur when your finger is about 2mm from the button! This is done to compensate for passengers who are wearing gloves. :-P@@elevatorsoflakecountyTV
Stop and think about what I just typed, here: Your iPhone screen uses a method of control that was deployed by Otis HALF-A-CENTURY before the iPhone was even a thought! And, each of the automated operating modes depicted above was possible using vacuum tubes and mechanical relays! Nowadays, of course, this is all done by typing in a little bit of code. However, stop and think that this was all possible back in 1948 (the year the Autotronic model was introduced by Otis) - decades before computers were commonplace! Imagine the skill the engineers at Otis had back then when they designed this thing! I think that is pretty effing amazing!
Finally, I know you have a few "elevator groupies" here in the Denver Metro Area, as there are several videos from central Colorado on your channel. That being said, give them a little advice: If they are interested in antique equipment that is still in operation, take a 2-hour drive down to Pueblo. That town has SEVERAL units from before the 1970's that have yet to be modded. Therefore, they should come across some decent "finds" down there! ;-) Also check out the Broadmoor Hotel down in the Springs. Most of them have been modded; however, they do have some very interesting TKE units there.
In closing, let's keep in touch, fer sure! I plan to keep making "back of the house" videos when I come across interesting equipment and posting them onto my channel. And, if you folks are ever around Denver, LMK if y'all want to get together and chat sometime. Elevators are my passion and I am only too happy to share that passion with those who are interested.
Also, please LMK any special requests of what y'all would like to see in operation. After all, I would much rather eventually get you your footage as a trained mechanic instead of you risking yourselves in dangerous environments. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stay out of the machine rooms and hoistways. I probably don't need to tell y'all that - but it needs to be said. There are things in there (for which I am certain you are aware) that expose you to heavy, fast-moving equipment, falls, and 480 VAC (and, in some locations, 600 VAC). Just sayin'... ;-)
PS: Sorry for the enormous novel here, but I figured you'd appreciate it nonetheless. ;-P@@elevatorsoflakecountyTV
@@UncleOtis_Colorado thank you so much for taking the time to write all that. I found it all incredibly interesting. I absolutely love to learn how these primitive automatic high rise systems worked, they’re so different from what we have today, and they are so rare to come across now. The touch sensitive “buttons” are so neat, I even managed to get a couple similar (same touch-sensitive Otis technology but with the circular buttons) fixture assemblies from an Otis mechanic I know in Chicago, since he has a residential gig at a building where he was modding a bunch of high rise cars with those buttons. I managed to hook up 120VAC to the tubes, which is enough to get the tubes to activate and light up when I put my finger on them; and of course in turn I put the wired tubes behind the “button” plate and I have a working fixture assembly! It’s so neat, and such a shame that they’re so hard to come by (although I understand the reasons why). And my friends and I will absolutely have to go down to Pueblo and the Springs to check that stuff out. That sounds real neat. And we’re in Denver for most of the school year, and we’re more than happy to chat with you and hear more, so I’d be more than happy to follow up on that front.