The Brown Hotel

Problem

The renowned downtown Louisville hotel wanted to modernize its elevator systems. As a busy, functioning, historical hotel, it needed to limit downtime and inconvenience for its guests. One existing hotel elevator had not moved in more than 40 years, and the hotel wanted to get it back into operation. The Brown wanted its renovated elevator cabs to match its celebrated, grand style.

Our Solution

We moved forward with a plan to upgrade a total of six elevators by working on one elevator at a time to help minimize any service interruption for the hotel’s guests. We installed four, 16-stop, gearless passenger elevators that travel at 600 fpm and hold up to 2,500 pounds each. The elevator cabs were also remade to reflect the traditional, opulent design of the hotel.

We first modernized 2 geared service elevators that run at 350 fpm and are rated at 2,500 pounds capacity. These elevators are the work horses of the hotel and allow housekeeping, catering, and other hotel staff navigate the hotel without tying up the guest elevators. By upgrading these units, we allowed the Brown to operate more efficiently.

Then, we returned to service the guest passenger elevator that had not functioned since the 1960s. This required installing a new machine, controller and door equipment, along with extensive repairs to the elevator shaft.

At this point, we then completed the remaining 3 guest passenger elevator upgrades. All updates were completed in 2015 after 21 months of work. The Brown Hotel has continued on its maintenance schedule with us.