I stayed in a cheap hotel with an elevator like this manhattan. It broke at some point while we were there, which was inconvenient, but not the end of the world or anything.

k00b

Construction_and_Engineering

The American Elevator Explains Why Housing Costs Have Skyrocketed

I lived in Europe once, 6th floor of an old building built in the 1930's. There was a TINY elevator.  Minuscule. Four slender people standing close together would fill it. 

But it worked, and yes, I assume it was really cheap.

Really crazy but very believable that elevator regulation would cause townhomes to be built, instead of apartments.