Where did floors 2 and 3 go?

A short open letter for architecture lovers, childhood curiosity, and the art of seeing what's missing.

We were standing in the elevator of our New Haven hotel when my 12-year-old son asked the question that would stick with me for days: "Dad, why are floors 2 and 3 missing from the buttons?"

I looked at the panel. He was right. The buttons jumped from 1 to 4, as if floors 2 and 3 had been erased from existence. When I saw that, I smirked at his comment ;)

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