Santa Justa Lift

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Elevador de Santa Justa.

The Santa Justa Lift (Portuguese: Elevador de Santa Justa), also called Carmo Lift (Elevador do Carmo), is a lift in the city of Lisbon at Santa Justa Street. It links the downtown street with the Carmo Square, located uphill.

Neogothic structure of the Santa Justa Lift. The bridge leads to the Carmo Square.

The Santa Justa Lift was designed by Raul Mesnier de Ponsard, an engineer born in Oporto to French parents. Construction began in 1900 and was finished in 1902.

The lift is totally made of iron, being one of the most representative examples of this type of architecture in Portugal. The metallic structure was made by a company based in the Junqueira neighbourhood. The lift is totally decorated in neogothic style, with each storey having a different pattern.

It is 45 meters high and has two booths, with wooden interiors, allowing 24 people each. The last storey is reached by helicoidal staircases and has a terrace that offers a wonderful view of Lisbon Castle, the Rossio Square and the Baixa neighbourhood. Nowadays it is a popular tourist attraction of the city.

Santa Justa Lift is the only vertical urban lift of the several that exist in Lisbon. Other lifts like the Elevador da Glória and the Elevador da Lavra are more like trams that help climb the slopes of Lisbon.

Many people wrongly think that it was built by Gustave Eiffel due to its style.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elevador de Santa Justa.
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