Overview

• A historical postcard in the Kölnisches Stadtmuseum documents the July 11, 1925 debut of Germany’s first escalator at Kaufhaus Tietz, promoted as a time-saving convenience for shoppers.
• Before year’s end, Berlin and Munich department stores followed suit with their own escalators, initially staffed by liftboys who assisted curious early riders.
• According to the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, roughly 39,000 Fahrtreppen now operate across Germany in transit stations, malls and public buildings.
• Observers regard escalators as icons of 1920s urban modernity that later came to symbolize West Germany’s postwar economic resurgence.
• The technology’s social impact extends abroad, notably in Medellín’s Comuna 13 where nearly 400 meters of outdoor escalators installed in 2011 improved access and helped curb local crime.