A doorman (or doorwoman/doorperson), also called a porter in British English, [1] is a person hired to provide courtesy and security services at a residential building or hotel. They are common in urban luxury highrises. At a residential building, a doorperson is responsible for opening doors and screening visitors and deliveries. They will often provide other courtesy services such as signing for packages, carrying luggage between the elevator and the street, or hailing taxis for residents and guests.
The occupation dates back at least to the time of Plautus under the Roman Republic where its name was iānitor (from iānua, 'door', the root of "janitor").
The United States House of Representatives had an official doorkeeper until the post was abolished in 1995.
In New York City, doorpeople and elevator operators are unionized and typically represented by SEIU 32BJ. They last went on strike in 1991, and other strikes were narrowly averted in 2006, 2010, and 2022. [2] [3] New York City doorpeople tend to be immigrant men. Historically they were Irish; in more recent times they are often Hispanic or Eastern European (Polish, Albanian, Montenegrin, and Macedonian). [4]
In Egypt, doormen are called bawab, and in modern times, they have been described by the BBC as security guards, porters, enforcers of social mores and general snoops, all rolled into one. [5]
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the state of New York. The building has a roof height of 1,250 feet (380 m) and stands a total of 1,454 feet (443.2 m) tall, including its antenna. The Empire State Building was the world's tallest building until the first tower of the World Trade Center was topped out in 1970; following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Empire State Building was New York City's tallest building until it was surpassed in 2012 by One World Trade Center. As of 2024, the building is the seventh-tallest building in New York City, the ninth-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States, and the 57th-tallest completed skyscraper in the world.
70 Pine Street is a 67-story, 952-foot (290 m) residential building in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Built from 1930 to 1932 by energy conglomerate Cities Service Company, the building was designed by the firm of Clinton & Russell, Holton & George in the Art Deco style. It was Lower Manhattan's tallest building and the world's third-tallest building upon its completion.
A bouncer is a type of security guard, employed at licensed or sanctioned venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, strip clubs and casinos. A bouncer's duties are to provide security, to check legal age and drinking age, to refuse entry for intoxicated persons, and to deal with aggressive, violent or verbal behavior or disobedience with statutory or establishment rules. They are also charged with maintaining order, and ensuring all laws and regulations are being followed by all patrons.
The Park Row Building, also known as 15 Park Row, is a luxury apartment building and early skyscraper on Park Row in the Financial District of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The 391-foot-tall (119 m), 31-story building was designed by R. H. Robertson, a pioneer in steel skyscraper design, and engineered by the firm of Nathaniel Roberts. The Park Row Building includes 26 full floors, a partial 27th floor, and a pair of four-story cupolas. The architectural detail on the facade includes large columns and pilasters, as well as numerous ornamental overhanging balconies. J. Massey Rhind sculpted several ornamental details on the building, including the balconies and several figures atop the building.
Trump Tower is a 58-story, 664-foot-tall (202 m) mixed-use condominium skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, between East 56th and 57th Streets. The building contains the headquarters for the Trump Organization, as well as the penthouse residence of its developer, the businessman and later U.S. president Donald Trump. Several members of the Trump family also live, or have lived, in the building. The tower stands on a plot where the flagship store of the department-store chain Bonwit Teller was formerly located.
The Mudd Club was a nightclub located at 77 White Street in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It operated from 1978 to 1983 as a venue for post punk underground music and no wave counterculture events. It was opened by Steve Mass, Diego Cortez and Anya Phillips.
The Fred F. French Building is a skyscraper at 551 Fifth Avenue on the northeast corner with 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Designed by H. Douglas Ives along with John Sloan and T. Markoe Robertson of the firm Sloan & Robertson, it was erected in 1927. The building is named for Fred F. French, owner of the Fred F. French Companies, for whom the structure was commissioned.
An elevator operator, liftman, or lift girl, is a person specifically employed to operate a manually operated elevator.
Kone Oyj is an elevator engineering company employing over 60,000 personnel across 60 countries worldwide. It was founded in 1910 and is now headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, with its corporate offices located in Espoo. In addition, Kone builds and services moving walkways, automatic doors and gates, escalators, and lifts. In the Finnish language, Kone means "machine".
A fire alarm system is a building system designed to detect, alert occupants, and alert emergency forces of the presence of fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, or other fire-related emergencies. Fire alarm systems are required in most commercial buildings. They may include smoke detectors, heat detectors, and manual fire alarm activation devices. All components of a fire alarm system are connected to a fire alarm control panel. Fire alarm control panels are usually found in an electrical or panel room. Fire alarm systems generally use visual and audio signalization to warn the occupants of the building. Some fire alarm systems may also disable elevators, which are unsafe to use during a fire under most circumstances.
A doorman, also known as doorkeeper, is someone who is posted at, and often guards, a door, or by extension another entrance. Specific uses include:
1 Wall Street Court is a residential building in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The 15-story building, designed by Clinton and Russell in the Renaissance Revival style, was completed in 1904 at the intersection of Wall, Pearl, and Beaver Streets.
555 Edgecombe Avenue is an apartment building at the southwest corner of Edgecombe Avenue and 160th Street in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, United States. Built between 1914 and 1916, it was originally known as the Roger Morris Apartments after the retired British Army officer who built the nearby Morris–Jumel Mansion, and was designed by Schwartz & Gross, who specialized in apartment buildings. The building was declared a National Historic Landmark under the name Paul Robeson Residence in 1976, and it became a New York City designated landmark in 1993.
A bawab or bewab is a kind of doorman common in Cairo, Egypt. A bawab's job is to watch the entrance of the house or building where they work and perform errands and tasks for residents, essentially combining the function of a doorman with that of a building superintendent and errand boy. The bawab has been described by the BBC as a security guard, porter, enforcer of social mores and general snoop, all rolled into one.
An elevator or lift is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems such as a hoist, although some pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston like a jack.
195 Broadway, also known as the Telephone Building, Telegraph Building, or Western Union Building, is an early skyscraper on Broadway in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The building was the longtime headquarters of AT&T Corp. and Western Union. It occupies the entire western side of Broadway from Dey to Fulton Streets.
108 Leonard is a residential structure in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Built from 1894 to 1898, the building was constructed for the New York Life Insurance Company. Stephen Decatur Hatch created the original plans while McKim, Mead & White oversaw the building's completion. The building occupies a city block bounded by Broadway to the west, Leonard Street to the north, Lafayette Street to the east, and Catherine Lane to the south. It is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ, is a branch of Service Employees International Union headquartered in New York City which mainly represents building workers and has about 150,000 members in ten northeastern states, Washington, D.C., Florida and other parts of the United States
Gus Bevona was an American labor leader who served starting in 1981 as head of Local 32B-32J of the Service Employees International Union, who helped his local's elevator operators and janitors who work in New York City commercial and residential buildings some of the best paid in the country. Bevona was chosen by Richard Cordtz as his running mate in the 1996 election for SEIU president, but Cordtz withdrew after Andy Stern entered the race and Bevona ended his candidacy for secretary-treasurer shortly thereafter. A substantial drop in the 1990s in the size of the local and criticism of his generous pay package as president of the local led to Bevona's resignation in 1999.
A luxury apartment is a type of apartment that is intended to provide its occupant with higher-than-average levels of comfort, quality and convenience. While the term is often used to describe high-end regular apartments, or even typical apartments as a form of aspirational marketing, a true luxury apartment is one that is variously defined as being in the top 10% of transactions on the market, or having a total value of more than $4–5 million US dollars, with "ultra-luxury" apartments being valued above US$10 million. However, it can also mean any apartment with extra amenities, such as a doorman, yoga studios or bowling alleys, among others.