Schindler reaches top in Elevator World
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The project, which involved replacing and renovating 12 elevators installed in 1932, makes for a far more pleasant ride to the "Top of the Rock", where visitors get an unparalleled view of the Big Apple.
Long a fixture of the New York skyline, 30 Rockefeller Plaza enjoys protected status as a city landmark, and is the venue for the traditional Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree festivities.
Destination of choice
For tourists, the destination of choice is the observation decks on the uppermost floors, occupying 55,000-square-feet.
From the mezzanine level, visitors take one of four customized sky shuttles to the 67th floor observation deck. Those wanting to travel still higher can take an escalator or another elevator to the 69th-floor deck. The top 70th-floor is accessed by an escalator or stairs.
The modernisation involved far more than simply revamping the existing elevators. Two new ones had to be installed to move visitors from the concourse level to the mezzanine ticketing and exhibition area, and a further two had to be renovated to shuttle visitors from the 67th to the 69th and 70th floors. New escalators were also installed to link the 67th floor with the observation deck two floors higher up.
Time was tight: the bulk of the new equipment had to be operational within two years of the contract being awarded in October 2003.
Customer for 75 years
Fortunately Schindler is familiar with the building, having serviced the elevators systems since their installation 75 years ago by Westinghouse (which was acquired by Schindler in 1990). The equipment has been upgraded every 20 years or so, and was kitted out with the Miconic 10 destination-despatch system in 2000.
The logistics involved in getting the new equipment to the site were also formidable, not least having to hoist heavy modernization equipment up to the new machine rooms on the upper floors.
Instead of a crane or helicopter – both rejected for reasons of complexity and difficulty in getting the necessary permissions - Schindler shipped specially made hoist machines from its Ebikon Works in Switzerland to New York and reassembled these on site.
Mammoth task
Getting the escalators to the top was also a mammoth task: a wall had to be removed, and the equipment brought up using an (emptied) elevator shaft. They deliver visitors directly to the outdoor observation decks, and are among the few uncovered escalators installed in the northeastern United States.
For Schindler the modernization paved the way for a new service contract. The company now has a team on site at all times to ensure that the elevators keep running from eight in the morning till midnight 365 days a year.
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