On boats there is a often a boom with a winch called a "davit". It is essentially a sort of crane that allows things to be loaded on and off the boat.
Houses do not seem to normally have davits, even though it might be useful in getting heavy objects like furniture, boxes of books, or other materials to a 2nd or 3rd floor.
The closest thing I have seen are the hoists barns have to get bales of hay to the loft.
Why not have one for a house? I would think you could even make a removable hoist. In other words, there would just be a socket, and the beam would go in the socket when the hoist was needed, then you could remove it and put it away when not in use.
