escalators

Escalators, lights, reflections, a girl leaving a cinema ...

Nathan Ames, a patent solicitor from Saugus, Massachusetts, is credited with patenting the first "escalator" in 1859, despite the fact that no working model of his design was ever built.

His invention, the "revolving stairs", is largely speculative & the patent specifications indicate that he had no preference for materials or potential use (he noted that steps could be upholstered or made of wood).