Reply #60: Here's some info about the elevators [View All]

[DoYouEverWonder]

If each elevator in the vertical transportation system of the tower buildings had to be located in separate hoistways, excessive floor space in the structures would be devoted to hoistways alone. By using the sky lobby principle, however, space is saved since “shuttle-express” elevators (10,000 pounds, or 4,500 kilograms, at 1,600 feet per minute, or 8 meters per second) will speed passengers to sky lobbies on the 44th and 78th floors, while local elevators will operate using a sky lobby as their lower terminal, enabling the “stacking” of the local elevators one above another in a common hoistway. To further facilitate traffic at the sky lobby on the 44th and 78th floors escalators will provide two-way service between the floors immediately above and below. In addition to normal freight service one freight elevator in each of the towers will serve a total of 112 stops from the fifth basement to the 108th floor. It will rise 1,387 feet (422.8 meters) – 400 feet (122 meters) more than the former record rise in the Empire State Building. Ten elevators swill travel from street level to five basement levels below the plaza.

http://www.otis.com/otis150/section/1,2344,ARC3066_CLI1_RES1_SEC5,00.html

So it turns out in addition to the regular freight elevators, each tower had one elevator that went from the basement to the top. Makes for a nice missile silo.