An office tower in London that’s been haunted by an office elevator has finally been demolished, a development company has said.
Key points:The building was built in 1905, and a series of ghost elevators has haunted it sinceThen-owner Charles Hart died in 1994The tower was built on the site of a former building at Hart’s former home, the National Theatre in London, where he workedIn an interview with BBC London, Mr Hart’s daughter Lucy said the ghost elevator had haunted the building for decades.
“The ghost elevator has been there since 1905 and it’s always been there,” she said.
“We just had a new tenant at the time and we decided that the time was right for us to demolish the building.”
In 2005, Mr Charles Hart’s wife, Sarah, bought the building, which had been vacant since his death in 1994.
“I had always wanted to get out of the building and it was one of those things that I felt I would never be able to do without,” she told the BBC.
“But I had no idea how to get around the elevator, and I never really had any idea how it worked, how it felt.”
So I just thought I’d do it myself, which I did, and it just stuck with me.
“The company that built the tower, London-based Hart-Watson Associates, said it was “truly a miracle” the building was spared.”
Mr Hart died of cancer in 1993, and his wife and daughter decided to leave the building in the wake of the tragedy.””
We’re absolutely delighted to be able restore this historic building.”
Mr Hart died of cancer in 1993, and his wife and daughter decided to leave the building in the wake of the tragedy.
“After his passing, the building’s been a part of our family for many years,” Ms Hart said.
The demolition will take place in late July.
Mr Hart’s estate told the programme that the building “wasn’t just a building for a few years” and had been haunted for generations.
“If you walk down Hart-Hall’s stairs, you will see the ghost of Charles Hart,” Mr Hart-Hart said.
“It was an elevator that took you to the front of the National theatre in London.”
The building’s history is also said to be “deeply rooted in folklore”, with the ghostly elevator a common occurrence.
“In 1908, Charles Hart had a stroke that left him in a coma for a year,” Ms Burton said.”[He] was given a wheelchair and his family moved to London, but he was not given the chance to have a wheelchair in the city until he died.”
“When he died, he was just one of thousands of people who lived with a paralysis of the body and that was not unusual,” Ms Sarah Hart added.
“He was just like everyone else, he just needed help.”
‘A bit of a mystery’Mr Hart said he was “very excited” to be working on the restoration of the Hart-Akers tower.
“To see the building come back to life is really exciting for me,” he said.