: In 2016, Giant withdrew its equity from the joint venture to refocus on its native brand, leading to the development of the current LOONG Elevator brand. Manufacturing and Technical Capabilities
Obata has stated in interviews that the game was inspired by a real sign she saw as a child in a defunct elevator in Duluth: a handwritten note taped to the control panel that read simply, “LOONS ELEVATOR DOES NOT GO TO ROOF.” She never learned what that meant. The game’s final puzzle requires the player to stop trying to reach the top floor and instead pry open the doors between floors, climbing out into a false sky painted on concrete—only to realize the whole hotel is underwater.
Dr. Elara Vance, in her 1992 paper “Avian Archetypes in Vertical Transit Dreams,” coined the term “Loons Elevator Phenomenon” to describe dreams where the dreamer is trapped in a rising cage but knows, with absolute certainty, that the destination is not a floor but a body of water. “The loon, in dream symbology, represents the repressed need to dive deep into emotion,” Vance wrote. “The elevator represents societal pressure to rise. To ride the Loons Elevator is to experience the impossible demand to ascend and descend at the same time.” loons elevator
In the vast lexicon of regional folklore, industrial oddities, and internet-age slang, few phrases are as simultaneously evocative and puzzling as A quick search yields scattered references: a forgotten children’s book from the 1970s, a piece of abandoned mining equipment in Northern Minnesota, a recurring dream symbol on anxiety forums, and even a niche indie game from 2018. But what is the Loons Elevator, really? Is it a place, a machine, a psychological state, or all of the above?
Local legend holds that the foreman, a superstitious Cornish miner named Jago Treveal, noticed that every spring, a pair of loons would nest directly over the elevator’s upper housing. The machinery, when activated, produced a low-frequency hum that vibrated up through the steel cables. The loons, unusually, would begin to call—not in alarm, but in what Treveal described as “a duet with the drum of the drum.” : In 2016, Giant withdrew its equity from
The name Loons isn’t a random flourish. It’s a nod to the —the iconic North American waterbird known for its striking plumage, haunting calls, and, most importantly, its graceful, efficient navigation across water and air . Founder‑engineer Maya Sinclair describes the bird as “a perfect metaphor for vertical mobility: quiet, powerful, and effortlessly gliding through its environment.”
The next time you step into an elevator, listen carefully. If you hear, just for a moment, the distant, wavering cry of a loon from somewhere above the ceiling panel—or below the floor—do not press the emergency stop. Do not call for help. Just ride. The doors will open when they are ready. And what you find on the other side may not be a lobby, or a rooftop, or a basement. “The elevator represents societal pressure to rise
LOONG Elevator operates out of a massive 260,000-square-meter facility in Giant Industrial Park. Their technical infrastructure includes: