Aquarium given a lift as truly unique

The Deep aquarium in Hull boasts the world’s only underwater lift – offering close up views of stingrays and sharks swimming past which now have been rated on a par with the Paris and Manhattan skylines.

The world’s top ten has been compiled for the USA Today newspaper by one of America’s leading lift historians to mark the birth of Elisha Otis, the creator of the safety elevator in 1852.

The list was drawn up by Stephen Showers, archivist for the Otis Elevator Company, now the world’s largest elevator manufacturer.

The top 10 also includes the Space Needle in Seattle, The CN Tower in Toronto (the Western Hemisphere’s tallest freestanding structure) plus the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai – and the Christ the Redeemer monument in Rio.

The Deep’s lift has become as much an attraction as the 3,500 fish, with the cars travelling through a transparent tube, rising 33ft through the water and pausing midway to give visitors a mid-tank view.