EscalatorIn 1892, George A. Wheeler, of New York City, patented ideas for the first practical moving staircase, though it was never built (U.S. No. 479864). Some of its features were incorporated in the prototype built by the Otis Elevator Company in 1899. Charles D. Seeberger coined the brand name Escalator (from scala, Latin for steps, with elevator). Seeberger with Otis installed the first step-type escalator made for public use at the Paris Exhibition of 1900, where it won first prize. Seeberger eventually sold his patent rights to Otis in 1910. The earliest type of escalator, patented in 1891 by Jesse W. Reno, was introduced as a new novelty ride at Coney Island moving passengers on a conveyor belt at an angle of 25 degrees.[Image: Artist's impression of escalators for a computer graphic.] |
