Photo of the day: Hebrew elevator

February 23rd, 2009 · Comments · Photography

Okay, so this isn’t really a Hebrew elevator. It’s in a building in San Francisco, actually the offices of Cooper Design. I took a course there two years ago and found these buttons to be so ridiculous I just had to take a pic.

I call it a Hebrew elevator because the numbers are laid out from right to left. Did you notice that?

Could this possibly have not been an accident? What purpose would there be for arranging the floors this way? Any ideas?

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Tags: Design·Pain·Photography

dlumerman

I guess I'm not the only one obsessed with elevators:
http://tinyurl.com/elevatorusability

cgranier

Even more strange is that there's a 13th Floor!!!! Have you visited it?

Whitney Hess

I've seen a 13th floor in lots of places -- even my apartment building. Seems silly not to note it -- just means those on the 14th floor are really on the 13rd ;)

cgranier

Exactly! I've never really understood why they "hide" the 13th floors.

Where you at FOWA?

David

Yuk yuk yuk.
or should I say יק יק יק

Pete Williams

What's the score with the lower floors? Or is 12 floors considered the limit of walking...?

Whitney Hess

Not unusual to see that in a building with multiple elevator banks, each serving a different subset of floors.

BruceEsrig

Seems better as a mystery.

Reminds me of the Fine Hall elevator prank, in which one or more enterprising students rearranged three floors in the tower by re-wiring the elevator. They also moved the directory information cards posted on each floor.

A professor would go to their door, try the key, have it not work, check the directory, see their name, and believe that they were on the right floor. Then they would go back down to the office, get an explanation, and go on with their day.