The top four unique elevators at U of T’s St. George campus

The University of Toronto is one of the largest elevator owners in Ontario—a province home to some 60,000 elevators, escalators, and lifts.

If you look closer, on the St. George campus you can find some of the oldest and most unique elevators in the country and a team of mechanics with both the breadth of knowledge and specialized experience to maintain them.

From sleek and modern, equipped with smart sensors tracking elevator health (think elevator Fitbit) to historic devices in heritage buildings with carefully crafted handmade parts, U of T has a range of vertically travelling technology.

We compiled a list of the top four most unique elevators on campus:

 

1. Lassonde Mining Building’s glass elevator

This modern elevator can be found in the Goldcorp Mining Innovation Suite. With an open-concept hoistway and energy-efficient design, this kind of elevator cannot be implemented just anywhere—requiring a specialized room to be built around it.  

The main attraction is the riding experience. Like Willy Wonka’s great glass elevator, passengers have a window to the outside as they ride up and down, and with fob-access, can even ascend above the roof to take in our iconic Toronto skyline. 

 

2. Jackman Humanities Building’s sidewalk elevator

Located inconspicuously outside the humanities building, this “sidewalk elevator” could easily be mistaken for a garbage chute or a storage unit. 

This unique device is built into the parking lot and activated using a buttoned panel on a nearby wall. Instead of simply travelling up and down its rails like most elevators, this device must first lift its rails out of the ground. Barrier signage keeps unsuspecting drivers from parking on top of an elevator. 

There are fewer than five of these in Ontario and only a handful of professionals with the experience to service this rare elevator. 

 

3. McLennan Physical Laboratories’ clock elevator

The elevator ferrying passengers in the physics building is a blast from the past, counting floor numbers on a retro flip clock display.

Not only is it a neat experience to call and ride this elevator, but it is a testament to highly complex engineering on the inside that results in a simple and reliable design on the outside. 

 

4. The Engineering Annex’s wooden rail elevator

There are almost no buildings left in the City of Toronto with wooden rail elevators—except this one. At 92 years old, this freight elevator has proven its durability. Constructed when wooden rails were more cost-effective and readily available than steel rails, these components were likely crafted by hand.

Facilities & Services mechanics and in-house carpenters have the knowledge to maintain and even repair components of this elevator, allowing U of T to preserve historical technology in heritage spaces such as this one, all while ensuring that it is safe and reliable for the U of T community.

With more than 260 elevators, lifts, and hoists and more than a few unique ones to manage, the F&S Elevators Services team and our service provider partners are dedicated to safety, accessibility, continuously improving reliability, and piloting future innovations on our campus. 

When you’re back on campus, take a look at the unique elevators around you!