Tucked behind the only exposed red-brick facade along Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Road, an ornate iron and wood capsule has outlasted more than a century of rapid urban change. Installed in 1903 when the thoroughfare was still known as Hornby Road, the elevator inside Fort’s Navsari Building
was among the very first passenger lifts erected anywhere in India. Exactly 123 years later, while modern Mumbai ascends through glass towers via high-speed digital capsules, this living mechanical relic still glides along its shaft, clocking over 50 rounds every single working day.
The Italian craftsmanship of Mumbai’s oldest lift
Built in Milan by Stigler and imported to Mumbai, with its original cast-metal logo still intact, the elevator reflects an era when vertical travel was an architectural luxury. Inside, riders are greeted by polished teakwood walls, a vintage ceiling fan, a collapsible iron scissor gate, and a wooden bench to sit on during the ascent. Powered by a hydraulic cylinder and counterweight system, it operates entirely via a manual brass lever rather than floor buttons, requiring human precision to brake flush with each landing threshold.
The lift was also a quiet witness to the rise of modern Indian enterprise. Named after Jamsetji Tata’s ancestral hometown in Gujarat, Navsari Building served as the official headquarters of the Tata Group from 1904 to 1920. In 1928, the Kotak family purchased the property and chose to preserve both the heritage name and the antique mechanism. Over the decades, the car has ferried founding commercial leaders alongside cultural icons, including cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar, singer Pankaj Udhas, and actor Saif Ali Khan.
How to see and ride it today
Originally powered by the same Direct Current (DC) lines that ran Bombay’s electric tramways, the elevator has received updated steel guides over the years to meet municipal safety codes while keeping its original Italian cabin intact.
Today, the elevator operates strictly during weekday office hours from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at 240 DN Road, directly opposite Hutatma Chowk Metro station and a five-minute walk from CSMT. It carries a maximum of four passengers at a time, and respectful visitors are welcome to step into the lobby and politely ask the operator for a quick ride back to 1903.
