An Elevator Motor’s Ride From Grade to the Roof of the Adult Hospital Tower
The feature image was taken by a 360 Fly camera as it hovered over the elevator shaft on the 17th floor (roof) of the Adult Hospital tower. The convex (fisheye) appearance might direct ones thoughts, at first glance, to outer space and an astronaut’s helmet. In reality, the camera lens is pointing directly down the elevator shaft on the roof (17th floor) to the 16th floor where the shaft has been covered for safety reasons.
It is not every day that one gets to attach a 360 Fly camera to an elevator motor and watch the floor of the northeast side of the construction site drop as the motor and its payload (the camera) are whisked away to the top of the Adult hospital tower. Today was my lucky day! I walked into the northeast side of the yard just in time to to attach a 360 Fly camera to the motor. The following images including a video gives one a birds-eye view as the motor is carried aloft from grade to the roof where it will be carefully lowered into place.
This post will be in three sections: Section One will feature some of the still images culled from the video. Section Two features the video, and Section Three will show scenes of the campus from the roof of the Adult Hospital Tower.
Section One: Still Frames
In the northeast corner of the yard, one of the two crane operators and the elevator foreman carefully attach the four cable straps to the elevator motorThe cable straps hang from the crane’s “headache” ball.Checking the cables.LIFT OFF! The elevator foreman signals to the crane operator in the cab to lift the motor. The second crane operator (each crane has two operators) holds the guide rope as the journey begins.As the elevator motor begins to rise its shadow appears to envelope the crane operator as he follows the motor on its ascent. With the task complete, the elevator company foreman walks away, and yours-truly (behind the barricade) with another camera in hand prepares to take another photo.The motor is whisked away. From this vantage point it looks like a drone or a moon lander.A nice view of the east elevation and podium.Hanging close to the northeast corner of the Adult Hospital tower, fourteen stories above grade. The camera, about to crest over the roof, peers into the 16th floor: the Terrace Balcony an Executive Conference Room.The roof of the Adult Hospital tower is in view. The cloverleaf towers are dwarfed by the new tower.A GRAND VIEW! Not every day does one see (except helicopter pilots) the three (North, South, and East) helipads from the air. The crane operator approaches the target from the east end of the tower. The blue arrow points to the shaft where the elevator motor will be anchored.The payload gets closer to its destination.As the lens looks down into the shafts an elevator installer looks for the guide rope.As the shadow gets bigger, the installer grabs the guide rope.The elevator motor hovers over the shaft on the roof of the Adult Hospital tower.Randy and Hector maneuver the elevator motor over the elevator shaft. This is a slow process since the space is tight. Note the camera in the white circle. Tight Tolerances!Yours truly (the photographer/chronicler) in the white hat watches as the elevator installer communicates with the crane operator 17-stories below. In place. As viewed from above. Installation completed! With the retrieval of the 360 Fly camera (see shadow with arrow), it’s a wrap! Two days after the elevator motor was lowered into place, the welders were at work welding the frames to the headers. This image shows the underside of the of the motor component.
Section Two: The Video
This video shows how an elevator motor is hoisted from grade to its place of installation on the roof (17th-floor of the Adult Hospital tower, which is currently under construction. The video was taken with a 360 Fly camera. To appreciate the video, it was formatted in slow motion. There is no sound.
Section Three: Images of the Campus From the Roof
This 1911 map of the campus is one of the earliest known. The three cottages on the east side of the hill (Numbers 1 – 3 in red) are the oldest structures on campus. The following image depicts the hill some 108 years later.The building that fronts Anderson Street in the white circle was built in 1925.
After graduate school Dennis accepted a position at Loma Linda University. He worked there for 42 years in the areas of administration and financial management, also teaching accounting and management to dietetic students at the School of Public Health. Through the years Dennis has chronicled the growth of the campus, including the construction of the Drayson Center and the Centennial Complex and the razing of Gentry Gym. He is the author of "The Mound City Chronicles: A Pictorial History of Loma Linda University, A Health Sciences Institution 1905 - 2005." dEp 09.30.2016 🔨
