Meet Lee Bowser, who manually operates vintage elevator in downtown Minneapolis

It’s no secret Minneapolis has been through a lot these last few years with the covid pandemic and social unrest, but a piece of its history has stood the test of time and its operator is giving people a much-needed lift as the city’s downtown continues to recover.

[@DieselDucy]

Lee is amazing. I have been in this building before. Amazing people. Amazing elevator.

[@CrossOfBayonne]

Same here

[@SheWhiteOne]

Great story Lee Bowser. I already knew you are the one for the job. You are a great person with a great personality. Thanks for being a friend. Sheila White

[@shortliner68]

Reminds me so much of the gated department store elevators I rode on in downtown Baltimore when growing up in the 1950s and '60s. Hope this elevator continues to stay in manual operation as long as possible.

[@TheTheo58]

Preserve this historic Otis elevator 98 years of service still running well. It stood the test of time. 3D printing of original parts to keep it running.

[@mackthnife3]

I operated an Otis manual elevator for a summer in 1972.....18 floors....horrible job....gravity kills your back and feet....up...down...open the door...see the clock....lol

[@CrossOfBayonne]

Otis also installed elevators in famous skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building

[@garethalford682]

Are there any Elevators still Like this in NYC ?

[@Techno-Universal]

We also now have the saving grace of metalic 3D printing so the original parts can also be reproduced for a reasonable price with metallic 3D printers as long as they have the original engineering diagrams for those parts. That elevator could also be cheaper to maintain compared to many modern elevators due to the extremely high reliability of it resulting in less sudden service calls compared to something installed in the last decade! :)