10 Elevator Keren
1). AquaDom – Berlin, Germany
In the lobby of Berlin’s Radisson Blu Hotel, the AquaDom takes you to the lost city of Atlantis. The 82-foot tall aquarium houses people going between floors and allows them to be inches away from almost a hundred different species of fish.
2). Long Island Business Center – Queens, New York
For fans of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, the next lift has that ‘through the rabbit hole’ feel.
Behind the doors of the elevator near a small entrance on 31st Street lies a grinning dragon with 3-D beasts bursting from its eye sockets. A fish-eye mirror on the back wall adds to the psychedelic atmosphere.
3). Bailong Elevator – Hunan, China
Bailong Elevator in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is a glass elevator that travels up a 1,070 feet up a sheer cliff face.
4). The Falkirk Wheel – Falkirk, Scotland
I visited this attraction on a typically grim Scottish day about a year ago. This has to be one of the slowest elevators in the world but when you think that you are in a boat being transported up to another level of canal, it’s actually an engineering masterpiece.
5). The Gateway Arch – St.Louis, Missouri
This is America’s tallest monument and is a white pod elevator. It was surely inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Finnish architect Eero Saarinen added glass doors which reveal the mechanics as the lift rises to its 630-foot summit.
6). Sky Tower – Auckland, New Zealand
Another one I was fortunate enough to visit, this time in 2006. The endearing memory was the elevator and its glass floor. I took a few photos which looked great as the cables and lights blurred as the lift ascended. A few minutes later and at an altitude of 610 feet, the views of Auckland harbor are awesome.
7). Hammetschwand Lift - Lake Lucerne, Switzerland
It looks like a giant firework but the Hammetschwand Lift offers some of the best views of the Alps and Lucerne’s blue waters. The 499-foot ride takes 48-seconds and is the tallest outdoor lift in Europe.
8). Luxor Inclinator – Las Vegas, Nevada
This inclinator transports guests up the side of a hotel at 39-degree angle. Why I hear you ask? Because the hotel is shaped like a pyramid! Only in Vegas!!
9). Louvre Elevator – Paris, France
This playfully designed elevator rises in the middle of a spiral staircase in one of the world’s most famous galleries. Once the lift reaches the top, a slide-out walkway extends to take visitors onto the top floor.
10). Santa Justa Life – Lisbon, Portugal
The Santa Justa Lift ( Elevador de Santa Justa or do Carmo) connects downtown streets with the uphill Carmo Square. It was designed by Raul Mesnier de Ponsardand is 45 meters tall.
