Also known by the name of “Elevador do Carmo” or the “Carmo Lift”, the Santa Justa Lift is an elevator located at Santa Justa Street, in the Portuguese city of Lisbon. The Santa Justa Lift establishes connection between the rising Carmo Square and the streets of Lisbon downtown.
Evolution of Santa Justa Lift
Santa Justa Lift is one of the three elevators found in Lisbon. The idea of constructing the Santa Justa Lift emerged from the fact that the topography of Lisbon is abruptly undulating and steep, making the transportation of good and people as one of the persisting urban problems. Even the introduction of the most modern form of animal-drawn vehicles was unable to solve the problem totally. Hence, elevators became the utmost necessity, to solve the problem rather satisfactorily.
Important facts about Santa Justa
The Neo-gothic structure of the Santa Justa Lift in Lisbon adds to its external attraction. This popular
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Lisbon elevator bridges the gap existing between the Lisbon office area and the Carmo Square. Its designer, a French-born engineer Raul Mesnier de Ponsard supervised its construction, which started in 1900 and continued till 1902.
The Santa Justa architecture
As far as the architectural features of Santa Justa Lift are concerned, this iron-made elevator possesses a height of 45 meters. The unique thing about its construction is that every storey of the elevator has an altogether different Neo-gothic pattern. Access to the topmost storey of the lift is made through helicoidal stairs. On reaching the terrace of the elevator, one gets complete views of the neighboring Baixa, the Lisbon Palace and the Rossio Square. The Lisbon Santa Justa Lift has two wooden cubicles, each having the capacity of accommodating as many as two-dozen visitors.
As the only vertical elevator in Lisbon, the Santa Justa is also an important tourist attraction in the Portuguese city of Lisbon. Today, the Carris Company supervises the operations of the Santa Justa Lift.
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