Elevator. The elevator that was in our courthouse was installed in the early 1950’s. I can appreciate their decisions at that time. However, I have slapped my forehead often about that choice as well. They were concerned about convenience and modernization, not historic preservation. They put the elevator tower in the spot that offered a path of least resistance- that big opening from the ground to the top, where the stairs were. After all, why keep all the stairs in tact when there’s a new elevator? The elevator was nearly 75 years old, and from an operational perspective, it needed replaced, so it was completely removed. It was a piston elevator (not cable lift). There was a 32-foot solid piston cylinder straight down under that elevator. Think about digging that pit to depth, by hand, inside that building, then bringing a cylinder over 30 feet long and installing into an operational building. That’s actually very impressive- but, as you can see, it’s gone. More details to follow.
– Ben Carpenter, Perry County Commissioner
Originally posted to Facebook
