PART 1 - 64 Years of Arnolds - 1911 to 1975

In (approximately) 1973 the Arnold Engineering & Lifts and Arnold Elevator Services businesses were taken over by the Otis Elevator Company and for a few short years operated under the umbrella of "Arnold-Otis".

Before the end of 1975, however, the business in Chippendale closed, with many employees transferring to the Otis (Australia) headquarters at Bankstown.

So "Arnolds" as we knew and loved it came to a quiet and sad ending after having been in business as an independent manufacturer of quality hydraulic lifts and chain-driven service lifts (dumb-waiters) for decades.

The photograph above - depicting the main premises (there was a small fabrication shop over the road and another a street away) - bears little resemblance to its present day appearance (below).

The Arnold building - now hidden by a more recent apartment block on the site of the park - has been converted to apartments and the entire area has become very yuppie-fied - something we would never have even contemplated happening back in the 60s/70s.

If you click on the street address it will take you to Google Maps "Streetview" for 14-16 O'Connor Street, Chippendale and you can have a meander past the front of Arnolds and see what it now looks like.

In June 2005, after some months of chasing people across the internet and through the telephone system, we managed a reunion of just over 30 ex-employees, held at one of our old favourite watering holes, the Landsdowne Hotel, on the corner of Broadway and Liverpool Road, Chippendale.

The entries that follow this initial post will highlight not only that reunion but will also present a selection of photographs, historical snippets and anecdotes from the company's past.