On Sept. 20, 1853, Elisha Graves Otis sold his first “hoist machine,” or elevator, featuring an automatic safety brake he had patented. His seemingly simple invention was designed to stop a platform ...

Otis elevators are in the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building at 2,722 ft. Image © Emaar properties. But it was Otis' elevator that would allow for ...

Riding in an elevator used to be dangerous business — until Elisha Otis, of Otis Elevator Company fame, invented a device that could prevent a passenger elevator from falling if its rope broke. It ...

For nearly a year, in the course of producing the NOVA documentary "Trapped in an Elevator," I've been immersed in the fascinating lore of perhaps the least appreciated—but arguably most critical—form ...