Taking Elevators to a New Level
Waclaw Kalata and the story of the last manual elevator operators
In 1898, the first manual elevators were installed in the Chicago Fine Arts Building. Now, over 125 years later, the last manual elevators in Chicago are being replaced by standard automated elevators. Over 20 years ago, Waclaw Kalata came from his home country, Poland, to work as an elevator operator and will soon become one of the last of his kind.
Brass double doors open to an ornate carriage. Enter in, and you’re zipped to the top of the Chicago Fine Arts Building in seconds. Without automated buttons or an electric pulley system, the manual elevators in this 10-storied historic building rely on the magic of a single man to turn the mechanical contraption into a reliable mode of transporting tenants and clients.
Polish immigrant Waclaw Kalata is the wizard of these manual elevators, the last ones in the city of Chicago, and although he is humble about his work, he’s one of the best at his craft. After 125 years of use, the Fine Arts Building is replacing its manual elevators in favor of automated ones, but Kalata will remain a cultural icon appreciated for his good-natured approach to skillful and consistent work.
In 1993, Kalata came to Chicago from Poland after being convinced by his friends, and he discovered the role of manual elevator operator.
“I came from Poland. I came to the States to work because my friends told me there are good jobs,” he said. They said, “‘Come to work,’” and that was enough encouragement for him to cross the Atlantic.
At the Fine Arts Building, he met the man in charge of the elevator operating systems: Tommy Durkin. Durkin, who now has the building’s lobby named after him, had a long career in the Fine Arts building community, training workers like Kalata and meeting clients coming in and out every day.
“Tommy teach me a long time ago, like 20 years ago. He nice man, and he tell me the story long time ago that the special people come – Mayor Daley, you know,” Kalata said.
When Durkin retired, he passed along his morning shift to Kalata who previously operated in the evenings.
“Before I was working afternoon like 4 pm until 10 pm. Then when Tommy go to retirement, I took over and now I'm working the day time 7 o'clock to 3,” Kalata said.
Kalata had big shoes to fill, but he jumped headfirst into Durkin’s shift with spirit. Now, 20 years later, he’s still enjoying countless moments with the friendly tenants of the building.
He says his favorite time to operate is early in the morning.
“The morning time is good because when people come they say ‘good morning,’ ‘how are you?’ Sometimes ‘do you want a coffee? I'll bring you coffee morning time.’ They’re nice people, nice tenants,” Kalata said.
Even when the number of clients trickling in and out of the Fine Arts elevators noticeably declined after the COVID-19 pandemic, Kalata remained optimistic.
“It’s a little slow now because after the pandemic in 2019, it’s working a little slow. Not many people come, but it’s okay,” Kalata said.
The job still has its fair share of day-to-day challenges, though. On average, Kalata spends just a few seconds with his riders, but occasionally, a malfunction in the elevator system causes the elevator to break down mid-transit, trapping everyone inside.
“Lots of people come from Europe to visit, tourists. One time the elevator stopped like this – no doors, no windows. I needed to call my friends downstairs to help me because I got people inside the elevator. They helped me do something downstairs – flip the switch – then the elevators were moving. We moved to the second floor and people go out,” Kalata remembers.
Kalata is no stranger to shuttling large groups up and down the floors of the Fine Arts Building. He chooses to work on every second Saturday, and on these days, he interacts with a number of young instrumentalists.
“I like working Saturdays because lots of kids come from the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. I like the kids because they fool around,” he chuckled. “Almost over 300 kids come to play music.”
As the doors of the manual elevators in the Fine Arts Building close for their final time, so will the passion that Kalata brings to his job. No longer will a good-natured face greet coffee-laden tenants or rambunctious CYSO musicians, but Kalata’s legacy will be preserved in the stories he’s shared and the memories he’s made.
After all, it’s the man, not the elevator, who takes others to their destinations.