It doesn’t trigger earthquakes, Max Zorin. It’s not even a button, only an indicator that the car isn’t properly aligned. When it lights up, the doors automatically open at the next floor and the elevator puts itself out of service. This may shake things up: There’s a $5 million upgrade in the works, aimed at resolving decades-old complaints about the system.
Photograph courtesty Flickr/jimw
Ask Chris: The Elevator in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center Downtown Has a Button That’s Ominously Marked SEISMIC. What’s it For?
Our in-house historian has the answer
