the above-ground floors were connected via 20 passenger elevators, seven staircases, and numerous freight elevators and conveyor systems. lord & taylor was considered the first department store to have installed elevators, though it is unclear whether the fifth avenue flagship was the first lord & taylor store with elevators. on the walls outside the passenger elevator landings on each floor, there were lighted arrows that indicated each elevator's direction of travel; at the time of the building's construction, this was still an uncommon feature.