 He also worked as an engineer, and as such he was responsible for the first public elevator in the city of Valparaíso, the "Concepción", which opened in 1883.As such he is considered the local inventor of these very typical means of public transport.Nonetheless, when the first one opened, the public, knowing that Brieba had published several novels with "witchcraft" themes, feared that the elevators were cursed, so it took a public campaign to convince them of their utility.