Dumbwaiters are a type of elevator that has been used for many hundreds of years. They can be found in many homes today, and for the past century, dumbwaiters have been used extensively in hospitals, libraries, restaurants, hotels, cruise ships, and many other places.

A dumbwaiter is usually smaller than a traditional elevator and is not intended to be used by people. While smaller than regular elevators, some commercial ones, like the ones you might find at a manufacturing plant, can be very big and powerful. Many hospitals make extensive use of dumbwaiters and in the early 1920’s, the Fifth Avenue Hospital got a major renovation, including an upgraded dumbwaiter system.

The hospital was designed to be very athletically pleasing and comfortable for its patients. It was in many ways the opposite of what you would expect of a hospital at the time. The reception area was carefully designed to eliminate hospital smells and sights, so that the patient could feel more comfortable. Using great care, sound-proof walls and improved ventilation systems were used to allow for an almost absence of hospital noises.

Upon checking in each patient receive their own room and the floors were set up in a very innovative design, that would change the way hospitals were built and managed. An ‘X’ shaped floor plan was used to improve the way nurses and supervisors could manage the floor. At the middle of the ‘X’ was a control station that could view all four corridors and better respond to patients needs.

To carry food and other supplies throughout the hospital, electric dumbwaiters were used. Starting in the basement, each floor had its own service room, with a set of buttons to control the dumbwaiters. These dumbwaiters were able to greatly improve the productivity of the nurses, which in turn improved patient care.