Imagine you step into a small room, the doors close, and suddenly the floor beneath you begins to rise so fast your stomach tickles like on a swing. In a few seconds you’re lifted to the height of a twenty‑story building. In 1914, when Smith Tower was built in Seattle, this felt like real magic. But the most surprising thing wasn’t the elevators themselves — it was who operated them: young women known as "elevator girls." They became the first female operators of complex machinery on the West Coast of the United States, and their story shows how new technologies opened new opportunities.
Flying rooms that frightened adults
When Smith Tower opened, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River — 42 stories reaching into the Seattle sky. But climbing to the upper floors by stairs was impossible — it would take half an hour and exhaust you. So the tower was equipped with eight high‑speed Otis elevators — the most advanced of their time.
These elevators moved at about 200 meters per minute. For comparison: modern residential elevators move at roughly the same speed, but in 1914 this was incredibly fast. Many passengers complained of dizziness, of strange ear sensations (like when flying by plane), and some were even afraid to enter the elevator. People were used to slow lifts or to stairs, and this new speed seemed dangerous.
But someone had to operate these "flying rooms." Someone had to calm frightened passengers, stop the car precisely at the correct floor (an error of even a few centimeters could create a dangerous step), memorize which businesses were on which floors, and do all this with a smile and impeccable manners. The tower owners made an unexpected decision: they hired young women for the job.
School for vertical‑flight pilots
Becoming an elevator girl at Smith Tower was not easy. First there was a strict selection: candidates had to be between 160 and 170 centimeters tall (so they could easily reach all the control levers), have a pleasant appearance, clear speech, and, most importantly, a good memory and quick reflexes.
After selection the training began and lasted two weeks. The girls studied the elevator’s mechanics — how the motor worked, the braking system, what to do in an emergency. They had to memorize all 42 floors: which floor housed Johnson’s law firm, which had Dr. Lee the dentist, which hosted Chinese silk importers. It was like memorizing a huge book.
But the hardest part was learning to stop the elevator smoothly. Control was manual: the operator held a special lever and had to feel when to begin braking so the car stopped exactly flush with the floor. Too abrupt a stop — passengers would lose their balance. Stopping too high or too low — and a hazardous step would form. This required the same precision and concentration as an airplane pilot during landing.
One of the first elevator operators, Grace Johnson, recalled: "My hands ached from the strain the first week — I gripped the lever so tightly my knuckles went white. I was afraid of making a mistake. But then you begin to feel the elevator, as if it becomes part of you. You know by the sound of the motor what speed you’re at, by the vibration when it’s time to brake."
A day in the life of a flying‑room hostess
An elevator girl’s workday began at 7:30 a.m. She arrived in a special uniform — a dark‑blue dress with a white collar, white gloves, polished shoes and a small cap. The uniform had to be flawless because elevator girls were the face of the tower — the first people visitors saw.
Before starting work each girl checked her elevator: whether all buttons worked, whether the lights were on, whether the cabin mirrors were clean. Then she took her place at the control panel and began a shift that lasted until 6 p.m.
During the day an elevator girl made hundreds of trips up and down. She had to remember regular passengers and greet them by name: "Good morning, Mr. Smith! As usual, to the twenty‑third?" She had to announce floors loudly and clearly: "Fifteenth floor! Law offices, accounting firms, import‑export!" She helped elderly people step in and out, calmed those afraid of heights, and sometimes even provided first aid if someone felt ill from the rapid ascent.
But most interestingly — the girls had to be adept at small talk. The ride to the upper floors took about a minute, and it was an awkward silence if the operator stayed quiet. So elevator girls became masters of brief conversation about the weather, the news, and city events. They knew who had recently had a baby, who had moved to a new office, which company was thriving and which was struggling. In a way they knew the life of the tower better than anyone else.
Why women, not men?
You might ask: why were women chosen for this job? In the early 20th century most technical professions were considered male. But the tower owners were thinking strategically.
First, they recognized that many passengers feared the new high‑speed elevators. Young women with pleasant manners and soothing voices helped reduce that fear. If a delicate girl operates the machine every day and smiles — it must be safe.
Second, women at that time were paid less than men for the same work. This was unfair, but it made hiring women economically advantageous for the owners.
Third, and most importantly, it turned out that women often did this job better. It required not brute strength but precision, patience, attention to detail and people skills — qualities that girls were specifically encouraged to develop in their upbringing at the time.
The elevator girls at Smith Tower earned about $15 a week — more than shopgirls or seamstresses, but less than men in technical positions. Nevertheless, for many young women it was a chance at financial independence and a respected job in the city’s most modern building.
Pioneers who opened the way for others
The elevator girls of Smith Tower became a symbol of a new era — the Jazz Age, skyscrapers, and the changing role of women in society. They proved that women could operate complex machinery, work at a fast pace and be professionals in new industries.
Many of these women used the job as a springboard to further careers. Some became secretaries in the companies whose offices were in the tower — they already knew all the important people. Others opened small businesses using the connections they had made over years of work. A few even became building managers — a rare position for women at the time.
Their story is a reminder that technological innovation often creates new opportunities for people previously excluded from certain professions. When something entirely new appears, the old rules about "who can and who cannot" sometimes stop applying. Elevators in skyscrapers were so new that there was no established opinion that this was "men’s work." In that space of possibility women were able to prove themselves.
Today elevators operate automatically, and the profession of elevator operator has almost disappeared. But in the early 20th century the women who ran the flying rooms of Smith Tower were true pioneers — they combined human warmth with the cold precision of machines, made a technological wonder accessible and safe for ordinary people, and showed that women could be not only passengers of technological progress but its guides.
