Meet Lee Bowser, who manually operates vintage elevator in downtown Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS -- It's no secret Minneapolis has been through a lot these last few years with the covid pandemic and social unrest, but a piece of its history has stood the test of time and its operator is giving people a much-needed lift as the city's downtown continues to recover.
The Young Quinlan building is home to the last of its kind: A manually operated elevator.
"It's all the same as it was," said Lee Bowser, the elevator's operator. "The original back in 1926."
Bowser is in charge of making sure people get to where they need to go with a smile.
"It's an up and down job," he laughed. "We just try and bring smiles and happiness to people's faces."
Every Tuesday through Thursday, he makes hundreds of trips traveling the building's five floors.
\"[My] favorite part is just the people, talking to them," Bowser said.
Leah Wong who works on the second floor is always up for the conversation.
"It's the bright spot of the day," she said.
There's also HannahJoy McNeal who works on the fourth floor who could always use a lift no matter the load.
"[I] often go to Target," McNeal laughed.
Danni Warren who works on the third floor said she just enjoys the ride.
FINDING MINNESOTA: Step back into the 1880s at the miraculously-preserved Phelps Mills
"It's definitely a good start to my day," she said.
Bowser said he knows most people who work in the building by name. He's worked in the Young Quinlan for more than 30 years doing a variety of maintenance jobs. He said this venture as elevator operator is a fairly new one, but maintains something very special.
"You know I'm just happy to be alive and be able to see people and meet people every day and keep their day happy," he said.
In 2020, he made the decision to retire because he said it just wasn't safe for him to work with his health issues during a global pandemic.
"Not meeting people and helping people, it really took a toll on me," he said.
Bob Greenberg and his wife own the building and last fall they were looking for a new elevator operator. They couldn't think of anyone better than Bowser.
"He's got the right personality for the job," Greenberg said. "Let's put it that way."
McNeal agreed.
"Everyone knows him," she said. "He makes the building a better place."
MORE NEWS: At Feathered Acres in Belgrade, you can be a farmer for a day
"If Lee is here, I pick the elevator over the stairs," Wong said.
"They don't come to see me," Greenberg said. "They just come to see Lee."
"When I came back, it was just like being back home again," Bowser said.
Bowser now follows a long line of elevator operators. Most who came before him were women who dawned pristine uniforms that included white gloves.
"Times have changed," Bowser laughed.
But what hasn't changed is the quick high-class conversation and human connection guaranteed to go beyond speed and spectacle for years to come.
"You can catch up a lot in 20 seconds and sometimes you can linger when you get off the elevator," Wong said.
The Greenberg said they will keep the manual elevator so long as they can continue to find the original parts to maintain it.
