Officially known as the Fuller Building, New York City’s 21-story Flatiron Building, which was completed in 1902, was famous for it’s hydraulic elevators. The action of hydraulic cylinders on ropes and pulleys raised and lowered the elevator cars. A piston raised the elevator in its shaft. The principle underlying the operation of these elevators continued to be a topic of discussion among visitors to the building until their replacement in 1999.