Week 30 – #24. It’s A Mail/Male Thing

James Goold Cutler received a patent in 1883 for his mail chutes.   He began manufacturing his mail chutes at Cutler Manufacturing Company, later known as Cutler Mail Chute Company, out of Rochester, NY.  This particular mail chute is located in a hallway on the main floor in an historic hotel in Chattanooga, TN previously known as The Read House but later renamed the Sheraton Read House.  The mail chute is original to the building, built in 1926, and is still in use today.  You will find older buildings in various cities which still have active mail chutes although many have discontinued their use because mail often becomes lodged in the chute.  The National Fire Protection Association banned the use of these mail chutes for buildings built after 1997.