I found these pics today and was wondering what they were used for... Were they for car storage of for everyday use? And how long were they in operation? what year do you guys think this might have been? Mike
Sure would have been harder for car thieves,and valet parking attendants wouldn't be messing with your car.(Attn Jesse)
Hey Mike, That's my ole '48 Fleetline against the wall 3rd level. Thought I could get a hot dog and beer at that little glass house, next thing I know, my rides floatin' off. Steve.
The cars were pissed they couldn't ride the ferris wheel at Coney Island. Everything old is new again, ever been by a high tech marina where the boats are dry stored, then droped in the water when wanted by the owner. I remember parking in one of these in NY city when I was about 11, 1956/7 or so. it was inside a building connected to a downtown hotel.
Hey, My money says that the maintenance on one of these, and the damage claims made by vehicle owners made this " idea" a thing of the past soon after. Swankey Devils C.C. "Meanwhile, back aboard the Tainted Pork"
We had some elevators at the dealership I used to work at, but they only went three high. We used them for new/used car inventory storage.
Actually, the one @ times square is something like 20 levels high, it's just concealed inside the building and not visable. There are a couple of them in Tokyo also that are ~20 levels high, and 1 I know of in Okinawa that's about 8 levels high. Also one in Germany I'v seen on TV that looked about 12 levels. AFAIK, insurance claims are minimal cuz it's all mechanized. Once the Nazi,,, er,,, valet parks the car inside the "elevator", the machine does the rest,,, no more human contact.
VW uses two freakin' huge ones to store cars after production in Germany, while waiting for the new owner to pick them up. All computerized...I think they said it takes only two minutes or less to retrieve a car from the highest level.
I thought these were the koolest pics when I stubled accross them!! and I knew some of you guys would have some experience with them so i figured i'd post 'em. must have been great to see something like that back then, when everything wasn't over enginered by the japanese... Mike