You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August, 2008.
Dumbwaiters have been used in homes for many hundreds of years. They have roots that date back even farther than the Medieval Period. Today they are used in homes and businesses alike. They are also commonly used on boats.
A few months ago, we posted an article about a new ship, called the Secret, which makes use of dumbwaiters to make work around the ship easier and faster. This week we take a look at a much older ship, built almost 100 years ago, that also used a dumbwaiter.
The Yacht Sovereign was launched on Friday April 21, 1911. The yacht, which was 165 feet long, was built under the supervision of Charles L. Seabury. The ships owner, Matthew Chaloner Durfee Borden, was a member of the New York Yacht Club and the son of Colonel Richard Borden who founded the Fall River Iron Works Co.
Matthew Borden was born in 1842 and graduated from Yale in 1864. After graduating, he inherited part of his fathers company and over the next 30 years he would work to build a large textile empire.
Borden, who was well known in the high-speed yachting circle, wanted a fast boat and this is what he got. Capable of reaching speeds up to 35 miles an hour, this boat was the fastest available for several years.
The deckhouse and dining room made extensive use of mahogany and dumbwaiters were used to bring food to the dining room. Unfortunately Borden died of pneumonia about a year after the yachts maiden voyage. After his death the Yacht and the rest of his estate was left to his sons. The Sovereign was used by the Navy for almost a year beginning in 1918.
Dumbwaiters are very popular today and are found in many homes. A dumbwaiter is a type of freight elevator, which is generally much smaller than a traditional elevator and is used to transport goods throughout the house. In the early 1900’s almost all public buildings had them. In large cities, like New York, they were very popular in apartment buildings and, since they seldom had elevators, dumbwaiters were used to transport groceries between floors.
While most tenants in apparent buildings used the dumbwaiter as it was intended to be used, some creative people found a different use for their dumbwaiters. The practice of dumbwaiter singing became popular and was first reported by the New York Times, in 1909.
The practice of street signing often led to the police being called and was frowned upon by many people, so in an attempt to woo a young lady, four men came up with an interesting twist to the street serenade.
After consulting the buildings maintenance man, the four men began to sing their love song through the dumbwaiter shaft. It woke up many of the tenants and there is no record of whether the young girl heard them, but the idea was very clever and after being reported by the New York Times, likely lead to many others trying it.
Businesses and personal residences alike commonly use dumbwaiters to quickly and easily transport goods between floors. They are like elevators, but instead of being designed to carry people, they are designed to carry freight. In most residential settings they are considerably smaller than a regular elevator, but commercial dumbwaiters can get to be very big.
In commercial settings, dumbwaiters are commonly found in hotels, hospitals, and restaurants. They are used in restaurants that have multiple floors and want to ensure that the food can be delivered quickly and easily. They are also used to transport dirty dishes to the washroom and clean dishes and silverware back to the dining area.
One restaurant, the Rockaways Diner, recently opened up in Rockaway Township, New Jersey. The two-story fifties themed restaurant, which opened last month, comes at a time when many of the diners that once graced the township have closed. With no real food options, residents were forced to head into Brooklyn or Queens to get a good quality meal.
The owners spent a good deal of money demolishing the old building and building the new two-story structure. They built a new elevator to allow guests to easily access the upper floor of the restaurant. In addition they installed a vintage dumbwaiter to ensure that they will be able to quickly and easily get the food to their guest.
Their food, which you can check out on their website, looks great, so if you are in the area you should check them out.
If you have a multi-floor home or business than you are probably well aware how difficult it can be to transport your goods and belongings between floors. Installing a personal elevator can be very expensive and requires a good deal of construction. For many an elevator is not an option, so they choose to install a dumbwaiter.
Dumbwaiters are basically a type of freight elevator, but most often they are much smaller and have a lower weight rating. They offer the same purpose thought, which is to easily and effortlessly move goods to different floors of a home or building. While there are many commercial dumbwaiters available that can support a good deal of weight, some well over 1000 pounds, most residential dumbwaiters have a weight capacity that is closer to 100 pounds.
There are two main types of dumbwaiters that can be installed to a home. A manual dumbwaiter relies on a pulley system and human force to lift the dumbwaiter between floors. These were very common in the early 1900’s, when dumbwaiters could be found in almost every apartment building, but most modern dumbwaiters use an electric lifting system.
A modern residential dumbwaiter requires a shaft that is about 2 foot by 2 foot and runs vertically between floors. While the shaft must run vertically, the dumbwaiter can be configured to open up on different sides of the shaft to improve the flexibility of its placement.
The technology behind dumbwaiters has changed in the last few years to allow a much easier and faster installation. Today most dumbwaiters come with the pulley system, cabling, and car pre-installed on a short length of track. It is installed at the top of the shaft and then additional track is ran the entire length of the shaft and connected to the car. This eliminates several steps of the installation process and is much easier than traditional installation methods.
Using a dumbwaiter in your home or business is a great and inexpensive way to transport items across different floors.
Recent Comments