Chicago’s last manually operated public elevators near their last ride

CHICAGO (WGN) — The Fine Arts Building on South Michigan Avenue is a living museum where art is displayed and made behind every door on every floor. It’s home to the Studebaker Theater, which began as a showroom for the company’s horse-drawn carriages, and it’s where W.W. Denslow illustrated ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.’

Working in the building are puppeteers, painters, craftsmen and piano teachers. But one form of art at the Romanesque building dedicated in 1898 will soon become an artifact: what are believed to be the city’s last-existing manually operated elevators open to the public are being phased out and will be replaced by modern, automated versions.

“We have operators here who have been doing this job for over 30 years,” said Jacob Harvey, the building’s managing artistic director.

Among them is Waclaw Kalata, a Polish native who emigrated to the US in 1991 and found a job with plenty of ups and downs. Perched in elevator No 2. for eight hours a day, Kalata navigates the 10 stories in an elegant maroon and gold Otis elevator cab. Once the glass doors slide shut, an accordion gate closes and the controller starts the 22-second ride to the top.

“It was really cool to watch the floors go by instead of standing in a steel elevator,” said 14-year-old violinist Olivia Golden. “Having somebody who runs it, I think it’s really cool.”

There’s only one button for passengers to push — a ‘signal to call’ button that summons the elevator — and just one way to select a floor: tell the operator.

Each elevator trip inside the granite and limestone-clad building is a symphony of sound.

“There’s sort of musicality to it, right? You hear the gears shifting, and you hear the music on the different floors as you’re going by them, and it all kind of syncs together in this imperfect harmony,” Harvey said.

As elevators do, the relics promote small talk, and while there are no bumpy rides, there are the occasionally bumpy stops.

“The experienced guys know how to stop the elevator to the inch,” said voice coach John Komasa.

Over the passage of time, maintaining the elevators has become increasingly difficult; it’s nearly impossible to find parts and the people who can do the work. Efforts to upgrade elevator No. 1 with a modern, automated version are already underway.

“Nothing is permanent, except, as they say in this building, except art,” said Komasa. “All passes except art.”

Kalata and other operators will be offered different positions in the building.