The oldest elevator in Florida got a new lease on lift after reopening on Friday in Gainesville’s Hippodrome Theatre, and from here, officials say it’s all up and down and back up again as the elevator returns to service. 

With towering Corinthian columns, the Hippodrome Theatre started as a U.S. Post Office and Federal Building in 1911, and the Otis Elevator Company installed the manually operated elevator to connect its three floors. 

Back then, the building stuck out from the open fields that still sprawled in downtown Gainesville.  

The post office moved, and the building went through intermediate uses before the theatre took the stage in 1979. The Hippodrome Theatre raised $2 million to renovate the facility.   

Now, buildings line each of the streets, but the theatre building still catches eyes.  

Hippodrome Director Evans Haile said at the ribbon cutting that the theatre serves as center stage for downtown, encapsulating the art and culture of the city.  

“We are now able to welcome everyone, no matter what their accessible situation may be, back to the Hippodrome to experience a great new season of art, of theater, of film and everything that this wonderful building represents, along with the culture, the history that is part of it,” Haile said.   

Look at a promotional photo of Gainesville and the Hippodrome Theatre as seen from SE First Street will probably be on it, Mayor Harvey Ward added. He said the effort to restore the elevator is worthwhile to the city and its residents—both for accessibility and just the pleasure of riding in history. 

The elevator shut down around two years ago, and the city and theatre staff set about fixing it through the Wild Spaces Public Places (WSPP) program.  

Unlike a modern elevator, there’s no light up buttons on the inside, and the occupants can watch the floors and ceilings pass as they glide through the center of the building. 

Ward said spare parts for a 100-year-old elevator like this aren’t just sitting on the shelves.    

“We had to be really creative and find ways to get parts built,” Ward said.  

The city worked with Eletech Elevator Company to machine custom parts for the elevator while keeping the original wood, brass and hand-operated features. The project cost $135,799 in total.  

Ward said a combination of city, theatre and residents was needed to keep Gainesville’s history intact. And he said it’ll need to happen again as the elevator ages after carrying passengers up and down for its next 100-plus years.