11. The Cooper Union Building in the East Village Was the First in the World to Have an Elevator Shaft

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art was founded and established in 1859 by American Industrialist, Peter Cooper. Cooper believed that the elevator would be invented as the Cooper Union was being built, so he included an elevator shaft in the design of the building in 1853. Cooper said that if the passenger elevator had not been invented by the time the building was completed, he would build one himself. However, the modern elevator would not be invented until four years after the building was finished.