The elevator, also called a lift in Great Britain, is a device consisting of a car or platform that moves passengers and freight up and down between the floors of a building. The car, enclosed in a steel frame, glides quickly and smoothly between steel rails inside a vertical shaft. Although the earliest elevators were frustratingly slow and dangerous, today's electric elevators can transport passengers at speeds up to 1,800 feet (550 m) per minute. Such speed is especially important in the hugely-tall modern skyscrapers like New York's World Trade Center or Chicago's John Hancock Center whose elevators move tens of thousands of people to and from their offices every day. In the 1980s, glass elevators put on the outside of tall buildings were thought by architects to add elegance to their structures, in addition to giving passengers a spectacular view of the surrounding area. The elevator has had a...