Something I have always wondered...

[Dangerous Dan]

How come on some buildings, often older industrial style buildings, there appears to be a door halfway up an external wall that would surely lead to a drop should it be opened from the inside?

Something I've always wondered.....

Example image

[anonymous-user]

Some sort of loading bay?

[RobDickinson]

The swing arm and winch should give it away

[Alex@POD]

That's definitely a loading bay on each floor, you even have the support for the pulley system (can't think of its proper name right now) still in place.

[Dangerous Dan]

Okay didn't spot that particular gem!

• skulks off*

[meehaja]

A guy I know is converting an old mill into recording studio/ community project. similar to the picture, each floor has an access door that was used to bring machines in/ supplies in. It also has a lift shaft that was used to power the crane outside.

[RobDickinson]

Still common in modern Holland for getting things in and out of places, not just warehouses either

[generationx]

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[FredClogs]

I used to visit an assembly plant factory in Japan which was 5 stories high on a pretty small footprint, something like 800 people worked there. The had goods in a basement the wagons would reverse down a slope and unload then everything was put on lifts to the top floor and the assembly line went down the building and shipping product was done from the ground floor, it was a remarkably efficient system.

Suspect this is an older idea on the same principle, steel construction has made building single story warehousing and work spaces easier but it very inefficient use of land and space.