Thought you guys would like these:
http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/...ow?oid=4408278
Printable View
Thought you guys would like these:
http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/...ow?oid=4408278
Back to Cleveland, I spotted a photo on eBay (hence the watermarks) showing the door closed, circa 1924.
Attachment 12561
What is the device under the door jamb? It looks like a lever that contacts the crane hinge when closed.
Attachment 13051
Thanks Doug. The text was a little fuzzy so I typed it out for easier reading: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...chure_1923.pdf
Guessing, it looks like either a sort of doorstop to prevent an unintended door closing (though that seems unlikely), or possibly a shock absorber to prevent an overly-aggressive closing. If you look at the bottom of the crane hinge I believe you can see a round dark imprint from this mystery device. I've never noticed this before, on this door or any other.
Here are a couple other pics of the device; one showing it when the door is closed. Apparently, it has to be out of the way in order for the door to close so it could be a moveable door stop to prevent the unintentional closings like you said. If so, a vaultman would need to move it out of the way as part of the vault door close procedure.
Attachment 13052 Attachment 13053
Some other thoughts on the "doorstop".
We rarely see pictures of big doors with the floor dropped (or in this case, missing entirely). So there's not much to compare.
Looking at images of other Remington-Sherman and York doors, and spot-checking others, the Cleveland Fed door seems quite unique in that the crane extends well above and below the door itself. Thus, this device could not be fitted in this manner to any other door.
I wonder if it was fitted during construction for safety, then removed or disabled after installation. Doug, can you comment on this?
I can't remember if this has been pointed out, but at the top of the door and frame you can see the typical "periscope" electrical connections for alarm and status.
The One King West crane hinge knuckles are below the door knuckles, so the door appears to 'drop' into place with each hinge knuckle bearing equal weight. The Cleveland Federal Reserve crane hinge knuckles are above and below the door knuckles so the bottom hinge knuckle appears to bear the entire weight of the vault door. The CFR emergency door has the same knuckle configuration.
Yes I have never been over there with the floor dropped but there is a corresponding shock that is visible down below to stop the door when fully opened.
Crane Hinge Configurations
Attachment 13055