While perusing some old books, I came across the following advertisements for GE Coin Op fans, also called Taxi Fans. These coin operated fans were used pre-World War I and during the 20's in hotels across the country to generate some extra revenue. A nickel would buy you one hour worth of cooling on a hot summer day.
If in 1915 a coin operated fan was utilized eight hours a day while hotel patrons slept, every day for the entire year, the hotel would net $146, equivalent to around $3,400 based on inflation over the last hundred years. Not bad! At the very least a Coin Op would cover it's electricity consumption and initial purchase price plus a small margin for the hotel.
These desirable GE fans are not only hard to find, they're even harder to find with all of their parts. Some of these parts are reproduced but many are not. Be very careful when purchasing a GE Coin Op and make sure you do your home work first. Considered a challenging restoration, look forward to White Glove Fan's documentation of my coin op fan which was acquired last Fall.
