The belt traveled from the first to fifth floors and back, and it was manufactured using a cotton canvas. The belt had handles and platforms attached to lift and drop employees working inside the 12th Street Garage in downtown Wheeling, and they would rise and fall through circular and oblong openings which were carved through the concrete floors.
The garage, once the largest in Wheeling after its construction in 1907, offered patrons valet parking so the workers used the manlift to expedite service. The building was designed by architect Charles W. Bates, and similar manlifts initially were developed in the late 1800s for flour mills, steel plants, and yes, parking garages.
“It was a busy place for a long time,” said Don Atkinson, an employee of Ace Garage for the past 42 years. “I always thought it was where the privileged people parked because of the valets. But when I went there, I used that manlift, and it was sketchy as hell.
“It really was, but I was young and dumb, so I just rode it instead of walking up the ramp,” he said. “Most of the guys working at the garage would ride it, too, but there were a few employees who refused because, well, it wasn’t the safest thing in the world.”
When introduced, the manlifts were not under the scrutiny of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration since the agency wasn’t created by Congress until 1970.
“I’ll admit it; it was a lot of fun to ride it back then,” Atkinson said. “But there’s no way that kind of lift would be allowed today. The liability would be way too much these days because you really had to be careful back then so you didn’t catch any of your clothing as you went from floor to floor. And the hole in the ceiling that you went through wasn’t very large either.
“To look back at it now, whoever invented that system was a genius, but these days they couldn’t hang enough warning signs on it to make sure people were being safe,” he said. “I only remember riding that lift up, so I don’t remember if it was possible to ride it down, too. But, when I rode it up, I usually came down in a car because that place used to be a very busy place. There was always a long line of cars on 12th Street with people waiting to get their cars parked.”
Historic Preservation
Employees with the new owner of the 12th Street Garage, Roxby Development, have not developed a plan to resurrect the operation of the lift, but instead the firm plans to renovate the structure and partner with Grow Ohio Valley to grow, harvest, and sell local produce. Preserving its storied history, however, is very important to Roxby President Jeffrey Morris.
“When we purchase these historic structures, we want to know everything about them so we can do what we can to preserve it,” he said. “The 12th Street Garage has been a lot of different things to the people of Wheeling, so when someone like Don Atkinson can offer some insight, it’s really appreciated.”
And Atkinson’s memories are vivid.
“I first rode that manlift in the 12th Street Garage back in the 1970s,” he recalled. “I was working for Ace Garage, and if a car broke down inside there, I would have to go inside, and we would push the car down the circle ramp because the tow truck couldn’t fit through the front entrance. So, I would go in, find out what floor it was on, and then ride that lift up to that floor.
“It was like a conveyor belt but it was vertical, and it went all the way to the top floor,” Atkinson said. “It had these steps that you used to catch it, and there was a handle, too. You just hopped off on the floor where you wanted to go. It was fun to ride, but I would never do it today. No way. When the Valley-Lincoln-Mercury was still open, they used the garage for its service department, so I rode it then, too, when I worked at the dealership and for Ace Garage.”,
