Oakland Underfoot

709 Broadway

Andrew J. McNicoll started his elevator company in 1886, in San Francisco, and the company was acquired by the Otis Elevator Co. after the 1906 earthquake. That year, Otis, McNicoll and seemingly every other elevator company in America were involved in a historic district court case in which the companies agreed to compete honestly in the elevator business. It established a precedent, for better or worse, of settling disputes by consent decrees instead of expensive trials that can unearth embarrassing facts, like guilt.

McNicoll’s steel was handsome and sturdy, although the elevator, which once served the building hosting the Have a Heart dispensary, probably doesn’t work any more.

This entry was posted on 4 October 2024 at 7:32 pm and is filed under  Streetscape. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.