In 1930s Czechoslovakia, the Central Social Institution (CSI) of Prague developed a massive archive of social welfare data. They used cutting-edge (for the time) punch cards to record personal and social data of citizens receiving assistance. Researchers used this data to study poverty, unemployment and social issues.

Accessing the archive was physically challenging, due to its size. The solution (designer unknown) came in the form of these motorized desks with cantilevered counterweights. These were electrically powered up and down, allowing clerks to get to the drawer they needed:

According to Rare Historical Photos,

"The [CSI] office consists of cabinets arranged from floor to ceiling tiers covering over 4,000 square feet containing over 3000 drawers 10 feet high (3 meters)."

"The builder designed special electric-operated elevator desks which rise, fall, and move left or right at the push of a button, to stop just before the desired drawer. The drawers also open and close electronically. Thus work which formerly taxed 400 workers is done by 20 with a minimum of effort."

You reckon anyone ever got stuck up there, while working late, after the maintenance crew went home?