AnnunciatorIn 1829, the first U.S. annunciator, invented by Seth Fuller, was placed in service in the 170-room hotel, the Tremont House, Boston, Mass. It was known as "hanging bells" because of the 140 bells mounted in a space 57-ft long, 6-ft high and 1-ft deep. A small hammer hitting a gong gave an audible alert and vibrated a card showing the room number. Fuller received a patent on his invention on 26 Dec 1833. The luxury hotel had further innovations, including the installation of eight bathrooms and toilets in the basement. Each of two cisterns in the hotel attic contained three hogsheads of rainwater. One supplied the baths, and the other supplied other outlets, including running cold water in the laundry and kitchen.« |
