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Gas Giant: 1937
... removal of 28,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil. Gas Holders The plant I worked in had ten gas holders of varying sizes to store argon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/14/2017 - 3:32pm -

        An old-school gasworks (back in the days before the widespread use of natural gas) where coal was heated to produce "city gas" or "illuminating gas," which was so poisonously toxic that people inhaled it to commit suicide ("taking the gas pipe"). The tank-like structure, called a gasometer or gas holder, telescoped up and down depending on how much gas was inside, its weight serving to pressurize the system and push gas through the lines.
1937. "Charlotte Street Gas Works, Charleston, South Carolina." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size.
Still Energetic!Building is still there, now an electric substation:

No Smoking!I hope the tank was maintained to a higher standard than the adjoining brick building appears to be!
Toxic for decadesThese coal gas plants (sometimes called 'manufactured gas' plants) were so noxious that many former locations are still toxic sites decades after being shut down, now needing extensive decontamination. 
I watched one such site being rehabilitated in Marin County for use as affordable housing. The process took over a year and required the removal of 28,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil.
Gas HoldersThe plant I worked in had ten gas holders of varying sizes to store argon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and a few other gases. Several were still in use into the late 1970s.
They Don't Tear Anything Down in CharlestonLooks like part of the building is still there.
(The Gallery, Charleston, F.B. Johnston, Industry & Public Works)

Little Italy: 1908
... yard belonging to the standard gas and light company." Gas Holders. The tank-type gas holders shown here were constructed in interlocking sections which rose as ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/08/2011 - 7:21pm -

New York's First Avenue at East 29th Street during the annual Little Italy festa circa 1908. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.
AwningsI'm always struck by all the awnings on these images of city streets. Remember how hot and stuffy stores could be before air conditioning? 
Re: TanksThose are two of the many huge natural-gas storage tanks along the East River waterfront that gave the Gashouse District its name.
TanksDoes anyone know anything about those huge tanks in the background? I am guessing that this is somewhere just above Houston St.
Little Italy 1908That would absolutely put it in the East Village, though in 1908 I think it would have been the Lower East Side.
Little ItalyFirst Avenue ends at Houston Street. Little Italy is south of that, around Mulberry and Grand Streets. This was probably another Italian neighborhood. The area around lower First Avenue is now called the East Village (as opposed to the West Village, which is really Greenwich Village). The East Village area is being gentrified with new restaurants and upscale condos. The photograph really belongs in a Godfather II scene, it is amazing.
[If we use the address number 489 as a clue, the first cross street in the photo would be East 29th. - Dave]
Gas tanksWhat a fire and explosive hazard - gas tanks in a residential and commercial neighborhood. I guess there were no restrictions at that time.
Gashouse DistrictThe the danger of fire was not the greatest of the problems cause by living in close proximity to the gas tanks. Before the Second World War, New York (and many other cities) were not supplied with natural gas.  They used manufactured gas, which was made by heating cheap grades of bituminous coal or bunker oil in a retort. This process produced several byproducts, including noxious, sulfurous fumes which permeated the air in the surrounding district. These tanks were located in very close proximity to several large gas manufacturing plants.
Uptown Not DownI strongly believe this is a view of First Avenue between 114th and 115th Streets. If you look closely at this photo you will see an undertaker, Antonio Cancro. In City Directories through the years surrounding 1908 he runs an undertaking business at 2227 First Avenue.
In the book, Rosa Ponselle: American Diva (Mary Jane Phillips-Matz, Northeastern, 1997) the following description: "Carmela [Rosa's sister] more correctly identifies the site of their tryout appearance as a theater at First Avenue and 110th Street. It occupied the lot at 2157 First Avenue, between 111th and 112th Streets Just a few feet to the south were two huge consolidated gas tanks, a lime shed and a coal yard belonging to the standard gas and light company."
Gas Holders.The tank-type gas holders shown here were constructed in interlocking sections which rose as they were filled with Coal Gas from the Gas and Coking plant when gas demand was low, and fell when demand was higher than supply. This way, the Coal Gas and Coking plant could be run at a constant rate, retorting coal into coal gas, coke and other byproducts.
The tanks were constructed in sections, and telescoped together as they fell. The skeleton circular framework had vertical rails within which the tank sections slid in guides on each section of tank. With the large area of the tank top, it did not take that much coal gas pressure to lift the tank's sections by gas within, interlocking sections as they rose. Some of the tank bottoms were water-filled to prevent leakage. The weight of the tank provided gas pressure.
I Agree with  "Antietam NYC"Yes.  Antietam NYC, you are very correct! I am a historian of the neighborhood which was once known as "Italian Harlem." I have a website dedicated to the preservation of the memory of this Italian immigrant enclave. www.italianharlem.com
To get back on point, this photo depicts Italian East Harlem, circa 1908. Right on target with noticing the detail of the neighborhood, there was once an undertaker by the name "Cancro" in this area of First Avenue and 114th Street. To futher support antitam NYC's analysis, 2227 First Avenue is between 114th and 115th Street. The conundrum is solved. No reason to question the location of this photo. Well done, @  Antietam NYC!
(The Gallery, G.G. Bain, Horses, NYC)

Factory Houses: 1941
... time to time in St. Louis. What are they for? [ Gas holders . - Dave] (The Gallery, Industry & Public Works, Jack ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/09/2011 - 7:19pm -

January 1941. "Near the waterfront. New Bedford, Massachusetts." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the OWI. View full size.
Beautiful!The muted colors make it look like an Edward Hopper painting.
Circular ThingsI used to see those circular things in the background from time to time in St. Louis. What are they for?
[Gas holders. - Dave]
(The Gallery, Industry & Public Works, Jack Delano)

Gaslight: 1917
... In Europe (I don't know about the U.S.A.) you may even see gas holders covered by a brick building, like this one in Wien-Simmering: ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/12/2011 - 2:16pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1917. "Washington Gas Light holders at  26th and G streets N.W." These relics of the gaslight era ("two of Washington's biggest stinkers") were scrapped around 1947. Just about every city of any size in the latter half of the 19th century had its "gashouse district" -- a rough neighborhood dominated by smelly holding tanks for the municipal gas plant, where coal was gasified to make "city gas" (generally either "coal gas" or "water gas," depending on the process) for illumination. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
Washington postsNote the electric streetlamps in the process of being installed.  Any day now, those incandescents will be lit up and the gasometers will be supplying several fewer gaslamps.
Up and DownDo the tanks go up and down?
I have a picture of some tanks that were always at different heights--they are in the background of some of my dad's family pictures taken in Maryland around 1949.
He said they would rise and fall depending on how full they were.
Telescoping TanksYes, the once-common "gasometer" telescopes up and down as the quantity of gas varies. You can see the inner and outer sections in the picture, as well as the guide wheels that roll up and down the support pillars. The gap between was filled with water. Nowadays much smaller pressure tanks fill the need. As the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica delicately advised, "A gasworks should be located with care as it does not improve the neighborhood."
Boston BlackieThe old TV series "Boston Blackie" often had Blackie climbing one of these monsters.
GasometersYes, they do go up and down.
The Gas House Gang..... was the nickname given to the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, one of the great teams of all time.  
The East Coast press, who for decades before and since felt that the league and Series titles were their birthright, characterized the Cards as being made up of hicks (Pepper Martin), thugs (Joe Medwick) and loudmouths (Dizzy Dean).  
That characterization was not totally incorrect, but as Diz said "If ya can do it, it ain't braggin"... and they did it.
There is a great cartoon which some Shorpyite (not behind a net nanny filter at work like me) can probably find and post, showing a group of Neanderthal types in baseball uniforms, walking through a gas tank field with clubs over their shoulders.  The caption is simply "The Gas House Gang".
26th & G St. NW is now......the Watergate complex.
Gasworks built 1852Based on the Baist real estate map, the tank pictured closest in the photo was located just west of the intersection of Virginia and New Hampshire avenues (the Gasometer labeled 3 on the map).  The gas works was located in this part of town to allow for economical delivery of coal (the primary fuel source) to the wharf on the Potomac.

 (Click map to enlarge)




Big Gas Tanks Here Headed for Junkyard

Two of Washington's biggest stinkers - both landmarks of the gas light era - are headed for the junkyard, completely deodorized.
They are the Washington Gas Light Company's huge holders -- or tanks as the public regards them -- at 26th and G sts. nw., and New Hampshire and Virginia aves. nw.  The holders, one of which was five years old when the Civil War started, are falling a victim to the gas company's conversion to natural gas.
One of them held 591,000 cubic feet and the other 682,000 cubic feet and both held enough gas to last Washington 15 minutes in a rush period, officials said.  Never regarded as a storage unit, but rather as a part of the gas manufacturing equipment, the holders lost their usefulness when the company halted manufacture of gas at the Northwest plant.  Only gas made now is at the 12th and N st. ne. plant.
The huge holders, of thin steel, will be dismantled by a junk dealer and the 30-foot deep holes filled in with earth, the company said.
"People don't notice any changes around here," one official observed a little mournfully, "They just notice it smells bad."

Washington Post, Aug 1, 1947 



Foggy Bottom Jarred to Heels

Groundbreaking activities for a 8-story cooperative apartment unit of the Potomac Plaza Corporation's Foggy Bottom renewal project started out last week with ground shaking activity.
Morauer & Hartzell, Inc., the Washington excavation firm on the job, have seldom encountered ground packed so hard as the 12-inch concrete base of an old Washington Gas Light Co. tank. A portion of the company's old West Station, the tank became obsolete with the changeover to natural gas.  Its base has faithfully resisted deterioration since it was laid in 1852.
...

Washington Post, Apr 16, 1956 


Top of the World, Ma!In "White Heat," there's a gasworks scene with Jimmy Cagney delivering the famous line, "Top of the world, Ma!"
ForeshadowingIsn't 26th and G NW roughly where the Watergate is now?
Gashouse GablesIn the 1927 movie "It," Clara Bow's character lives in a neighborhood called Gashouse Gables. I wondered what the term referred to, now it can be told.
Bugs Bunny played 'em!In the 1946 Looney Tune "Baseball Bugs," Bugs Bunny plays single-handed against a rough-looking team called the Gashouse Gorillas.
Vienna gasometerIn Europe (I don't know about the U.S.A.) you may even see gas holders covered by a brick building, like this one in Wien-Simmering:
 
Snuffed out.I have actually seen several accounts in 19th Century newspapers of country rubes arriving in the city and staying at a hotel, seeing gas lighting for the first time in their lives and proceeding to blow out the flame at bedtime without turning off the gas jet, despite signs warning not to do so. The poor devils snuffed themselves out.
Gas PoisoningCoal gas, around 25 percent carbon monoxide by volume, was the cause of frequent accidental poisonings, with lots of articles in the newspapers about people found dead in their beds because someone turned on a gas jet by accident without lighting it. Or maybe not so accidentally -- "taking the gas pipe" was a common method of suicide.
(The Gallery, D.C., Harris + Ewing, Industry & Public Works)

Moving Day: 1938
... tried finding out online but to no avail. [Those are gas holders, also known as gasometers, and they're not under construction. - ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/07/2018 - 10:10am -

New York, 1938. "East 62nd Street." Medium format acetate negative by Sheldon Dick for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Right There in ManhattanI spy some great gasometers lurking in the distance.
The 2 Round Towers Does anybody know what those two, apparently round, structures are there were being built at the end of E. 63rd down by the water?
I've tried finding out online but to no avail.
[Those are gas holders, also known as gasometers, and they're not under construction. - Dave]
Those trousers!Can anyone share any insight into that pair of pants? Was that a style? Born of necessity? Please advise.
There's a lot of fabric in those pantsWas this style popular circa 1938?
East 62nd, not 63rdBetween Second and First avenue as this 1930 Plat map of Manhattan shows the Bristol company on 62nd Street.
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/16723/Plate+105/Manhattan+1930+La... 
Split apronThe mover appears to be wearing a split apron similar to a farrier's apron. It allows you to bear loads on the front of your thighs while protecting your trousers and your skin from punctures and abrasion.
Not Pants?I can remember trashmen in Philadelphia in the mid 1950s wearing that kind of heavy cloth leg apron that didn't go above the waist.  I think a trashman character in the Snuffy Smith comic strip also wore it.
Fill 'er up!As a young boy, my father and I drove past a gasometer. There were several men sitting on top of the bladder with their legs hanging over the side. My father said they were filling it up. It's easy to fool a kid when he adores his father. 
Rubber NeckersI know there have been other photos showing people watching life go by from their windows, but this is one of the few I remember. I've always thought it odd that more people didn't keep an eye on that stranger in the 'hood with a camera. 
Wonder WomanI wonder what the woman on top of that building was doing - aside from making me nervous -- 80 years later.
[This might be a good opportunity to investigate the difference between "woman" and "women." - Dave]
Ahhh... isn't it great when it's never too late to learn singular from plural?!
Heavens to BetsyI hope she isn't going to jump!
Still there (mostly)Looking at Google Maps Street View, the building that housed The Bristol Co. at 319 E. 62nd Street is still there, as is the building across the street at 316 (although one half of the parapet has strangely disappeared):

(The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, NYC, Sheldon Dick)

Chrysler Building: 1932
... find them and see how they compare. Gasometers The gas holders by the bridge caught my eye. I didn't realize how huge they are - a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/31/2012 - 2:52pm -

Jan. 19, 1932. "View from Empire State Bldg. to Chrysler Building and Queensboro Bridge, low viewpoint." 5x7 negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size.
For a moment...I was wondering where the Empire State Building was!  Then I read the caption.  What an amazing photo this is.  Dave, you're outdoing yourself lately.  Gottscho's negatives are a true treasure.
Is this backwardsHas this photo been mirrored? The empire state building is to the southwest of the Chrysler building, which is southwest of the bridge.
[Whoops. It was backwards. Now fixed. Thank you! - Dave]
Welfare IslandThe Queensboro Bridge that connects Manhattan to Queens is seen straddling Roosevelt Island, a residential community of some 12,000 people. There are rentals, co-ops, and condos and it is a self contained community with some of the best views of Manhattan. Its predecessor was called Welfare Island and housed the city's tuberculosis hospital, before that it was known as Blackwell's Island, which was a prison complex and insane asylum. Roosevelt Island is connected to Manhattan by a tramway (59th Street) and a newer subway station (IND on the 63rd St Line). It can be approached by car or truck from the Queens side. The founders fought hard to make it part of Manhattan and not Queens, it has a Manhattan Zip Code, 10044, and Area Code, 212.
Speaking of directionsIsn't that the Sydney Harbour Bridge out in the distance in the top-left corner?
Great work DavePlease keep the NYC views coming, They have been great. This one is my new desktop wallpaper.  Thanks for your tireless efforts.
[You're (pant, gasp) very welcome! - Dave]
Negative CommentIs the negative reversed here?  It seems like the East River should be on the right, not the left.
[Maybe it's the West River. - Dave]
[Thanks for fixing it! Can you switch faucets, too?  My hot is cold and my vice is versa.- Delworthio]
Same ViewpointI believe I snapped a photo from the same viewpoint at Mr. Gottscho 70 years later on the occasion of my 40th birthday - November 1, 2002.

Why, why, whyWhy, why, why is this picture so much more beautiful and magical and fascinating and dreamy than your average cityscape of today on film?  Is it gothic/nouveau/art deco subject matter + the technique + the hardware?  I don't know, but I sure love it. 
Equal TimeWashingtonians have had their day for quite some time now and New York is having its day in the sun, thanks to Dave.  Can San Francisco be far behind?
What happen?When I look at the magnificent architecture of these old pre-1950 buildings and compare them to the unimaginative glass boxes of today- I wonder- what happen?
My first visit to NYCMany years ago my father took me to NYC for the boat show and we walked for miles seeing the sights. He took us to Macy's, St. Patrick's, Radio City and the top of the Empire State Building. Somewhere I have snapshots from the observation deck, all four directions at that. I'll have to find them and see how they compare.
GasometersThe gas holders by the bridge caught my eye. I didn't realize how huge they are - a lot of the nearby buildings could fit inside one.
Similar tanks were pictured in this previous post.
It was positiveThe canyons of mid-Manhattan were places of positive joy for a early 20-something guy attending television and radio production school at RCA Institutes in 1963. At the time I held a grand position as mail boy in the then-General Electric Building at 570 Lexington Ave. (to the left behind the Waldorf Towers in the photo), and my dad had an office in the Empire State Building at the time. Apropos of nothing, I once saw Van Johnson striding down Broadway in a trench coat walking a brace of Afghan hounds. Ah, those truly were the days, my friend!
Re: Speaking of directions>> Isn't that the Sydney Harbour Bridge out in the distance in the top-left corner?
Kind of,  it's the Hell Gate Bridge,  which turned out to be an inspiration for the SHB. Also seen here on Shorpy.
Another stunner!Another stunning view.  And just when I'd thought I had found my favorite Shorpy picture....These cityscapes always blow me away.  KEEP "EM COMING!
Amazing!This is my new wallpaper, replacing the Detroit Aquarium. The 59th St. Bridge has never looked so good. Frustratingly, my neighborhood in Queens is just to the right of the frame. I got a kick out of seeing both the 3rd and the 2nd El's in the lower right corner. These have both been torn down now. You can read about them here.
Re: White CastleNew York Hospital. Now Weill Cornell Medical Center.

EvocativeWhen I look at this photo (and the other Gottschos), it summons up a lifetime's worth of emotion in viewing the astonishing landscape of the Capital of the World and I am yearning again for a city that has no equal anywhere. And to echo the tenor of several of the commentators, this period in time was perhaps the New York era ne plus ultra.
Thanks again, Dave.
What's that cool building?What's the building about a block to the left of the Chrysler building, with gothic arches near the top and what appears to be a penthouse with skylight?  Is it still standing?
The current viewYou can almost duplicate this view using Google Earth's 3D buildings feature. The building in the lower left is the Mercantile building, finished in 1929. The building with the gothic arches is the Lincoln Building and still stands.
Cool Lincoln BuildingThe "cool" building with the Gothic Arches is the Lincoln Building at 60 East 42nd Street. I used to work in it.
And yes it is still there!

Seen clearly in this viewSeen clearly in this view are the towers at 295 Madison Avenue (SE corner of 41st Street) and 230 Park Avenue (now the Helmsley Building, between 45th and 46th Streets), the latter of which is surrounded by the east and west ramps of Park Avenue, as are the Met Life (once the Pan Am) building and the Grand Central Terminal complex. I worked at 295 Madison in 1959-60, and later at 230 Park in 1977-1981. It's great to see these classical skyscraper buildings again, and to hope they are never demolished for one of those glass monstrosities so prevalent today in this part of Manhattan. 
Perfect TimingBy coincidence, the Knowledge Channel here in Canada has recently been re-running Ric Burns's excellent documentary "New York." Watching the series again and seeing these great images on Shorpy is perfect timing. I can almost hear the splendid narrative of the documentary in my head as I gaze upon these wonderful photographs. More please!
White CastleCan anyone identify the big gleaming complex on the river, north of the bridge? I'm guessing its around the E 70s. I can't spy anything like that in Google Maps or Earth and it seems like a mighty big object to disappear. Maybe it was in Robert Moses' way when building FDR Drive?
[It's still there. New York Hospital. - Dave]

The City is beautiful, but..I've been waiting to make a comment on the recent string of NYC photos. I grew up on Long Island and could see lower Manhattan from my school's playground. I always wanted to know what the skyline looked like before my time.
That said, the hardest thing for me to realize is that although this view is absolutely stunning, it was taken at the height of the Great Depression. I cannot reconcile the stories of suffering and privation that led to my grandfather running away from his home not too far uptown from here and only four years after this picture was taken (at age 14) with the gleaming monuments to mankind that compose this photograph.
SurroundedAhh, I see it, thnx. Wow, the neighborhood really grew, it doesn't stand out as much.
The cool building is...
The Chanin Building. You can see it in the 2002 photo I posted below.
[Actually the "cool building" referred to below is the Lincoln Building. - Dave]
Old pics vs new pics>> Why is this picture so much more beautiful and magical and fascinating and dreamy than your average cityscape of today on film? Is it gothic/nouveau/art deco subject matter + the technique + the hardware?
A good question, not easy to answer-- but some people still take above-average cityscapes, e.g.
http://www.pbase.com/rfcd100/image/83470981/original
Gigapans from this viewpoint...Hi -
I just completed a series of view from the Empire State Building. Can't really embed any of the photos, as they are several hundred megabytes each (10MB images stitched together), but here is a link with a view of the Chrysler Building. If you want more, simply search the gigapan.org website for my pictures (search for "JohnF" there), there are a number of them from New York and elsewhere...
http://gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=30511
John
Legos or a Video GameI love this photograph. At first glance it looks surreal, like it is a Lego block building set or a video game where you build a city empire. 
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC)

City Gas: 1905
... was looking at some of these in Europe and UK online; some gas holders overseas have been converted to condominiums or apartment ... far from our home was a coking plant which had two huge gas holders of the type shown. They would slowly rise as gas was produced ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/01/2019 - 11:14am -

Circa 1905. "Gas holder, Detroit City Gas Company." A familiar sight from the era of "city gas," when municipalities had their own gas plants in the days before long-distance transmission of natural gas. The telescoping sections rose or fell as "illuminating gas," which was made by heating coal, was put into or removed from the holder. 8x10 glass negative. View full size.
Gas Holder Fun FactsAs my 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica states, "A gasworks should be sited with some care as it does not improve the neighborhood." Water was kept between the telescoping sections as a seal -- the internal pressure was not that great. Cincinnati, a town which has creatively repurposed its older infrastructure, has a gasworks park with creative "sculptures" made from the old apparatus. 
Oval GasGasometers are still a feature of some British city skylines, one of the most high-profile being in the background of the Oval cricket ground in South London.
WiredI am mesmerized by those wires coming in from the upper right.  I suppose they run behind the container and that it's only their shadow that continues perfectly across the front until diverted by the curve - but, as I study them, they play tricks on my brain jumping from foreground to background amongst the geometric shadows.
[The wires run across the photo in front of the tank. - Dave]
So THAT's what that thing was!There was a framework that looked like this to the west of I-435 in Kansas City on the river bluffs - I wondered for years what it was.  Thanks for clearing up that mystery!
Ka-BOOMGot a light.
West coast gasWhen I was growing up out here in California these things were a familiar sight in just about any city of a goodly size, even suburban San Rafael just to the north of us in Marin County. There was an enormous one in San Francisco up through the mid-1960s, at the east end of the Marina District. Here it is at the right in a section of a slide I took from across the bay near Sausalito in early 1965.
Gas Tank ParkNew York had dozens of these structures. Some of the most famous were the Elmhurst tanks. They were knocked down in the 1980s and now the site of Gas Tank Park. Near most of these structures were the gashouses which produced the illuminating gas -- sites often requiring remediation to remove the contaminant plumes of benzene and other aromatic hydrocarbons which dripped into the ground.
Got gas?Hi tterrace. That tank is now the site of the upscale Marina Safeway. However, its memory lives on in the name of the sailboat marina right across the street: Gas House Cove.
Worried ?Wonder if the people living next door ever worried about an explosion. That being said, I have never heard of one blowing up. Gas lines, yes. The neighbors most likely never had low pressure in their lines, at least. 
A while back I was looking at some of these in Europe and UK online; some gas holders overseas have been converted to condominiums or apartment buildings! 
"Gasometers"I live in London, and you will still see these structures all over England and particularly in the large cities. We call them "Gasometers," and they are still part of the national grid for gas distribution.
Love em in London!These things seem to inspire the same fond feelings as water towers. So big and matter of fact and useful! The number 8 gasometer down the road from me in King's Cross, London, is being zhuzhed up as part of the regeneration of the area. Hopefully they'll keep it a little bit weird and rusty. 
http://www.bp-k.com/projects/Gasholder.html
An Illuminating Subject.When I was young, not far from our home was a coking plant which had two huge gas holders of the type shown.
They would slowly rise as gas was produced and fall as gas consumption exceeded supply.
The adjacent gas works would emit an atomic cloud of steam as a coke oven was "pushed" and the glowing coke quenched by water before it was loaded into steel hopper cars.
On occasion a wood-sided hopper was used, the coke not completely quenched, and the resulting fire caused by the wind of the train's motion would burn thru the car side and a glowing lava of coke pour out as the train moved down the track.
Steel coke cars would sometimes glow in patches at night.
I do not know if there are any gas holders of this design left.
I would like to ride on top of one and watch it inch up by looking at the framework, and see it pause as the pressure inside had to increase to lift the next section.
I tell younger people about them and they do not grasp the idea of the telescoping sections at all, how the pressure inside, although low, was enough to lift the tons of metal the tanks sections were made of.
Other gas holders were circular and made with bricks, not rising nor falling.
The whole coke plant and the gas holders are long gone, ugly to be sure, being replaced with even UGLIER slumplexes of high-density housing.
LandmarksThose Elmurst, NY, Gas Tanks were a staple for many Long Island Expressway Commuters. Traffic reporters would announce, with almost every daily (weekday) morning drive heading to The Queens-Midtown Tunnel, that the major tie-ups would be in the vicinity of the gas tanks. Incidentally, the tanks themselves rose and fell according the volume of gas in them.
They could have preserved itby turning it into a park, like we did here in Seattle.
Same in St. LouisThere was at least one of these on highway 64/40 in St. Louis that I used to pass daily on my commute. It would rise and fall and I always wondered what it was. I'd heard it was for natural gas but I never really understood, but now I do. Great photo- thanks for posting!
http://www.builtstlouis.net/industrial/gasometers.html 
Roll up the windows! We passed two of these tanks en route to Grand-ma's Brownstone in Brooklyn, NY. But the associated cracking plants and their gas flare towers sent the pervasive stench of rotten eggs drifting over the county for miles around. We all held our noses and made rude noises until shushed by the adults. 
Wow, popular topic! I just wanted to add that modern tanks act as flow buffers, just like water towers. Instead of just storing locally made gas, they store a 'back-up' quantity of product to handle periods of high demand, but are fed by massive pipelines from distant plants.
(The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)

Boardwalk Empire: 1910
... A Lot of Gas I see at least four gasometers (gas holders) in the photo. The Twin Towers Does anyone know what ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/20/2012 - 3:36pm -

Atlantic City, N.J., circa 1910. "Boardwalk, Hotel Marlborough-Blenheim and Young's Million-Dollar Pier." There are a zillion interesting details in this panorama made from four 8x10 inch glass negatives. View full size.
Just imagineTo be able to take for granted that you will walk outside to such beautiful buildings, a boardwalk where everyone is nicely dressed and you can even walk six abreast, sweeping lawns, spacious streets, peaceful porches to rock on, an almost empty beach to sit on. They probably took much of it for granted and certainly didn't know how amazing and wonderful it would look to me 100 years hence.
A Monumental ChallengeDo any of our talented colorizers dare tackle such a sweeping scene?
Are any of these buildings still standing?Maybe someone familiar with Atlantic City knows. I've never been there.
AmazingThe scope of the shot is breathtaking!  From the chimney that needs repair in the lower right corner and the "hidden" clotheslines on that roof, to the confection of the M-B to the Pier and the vistas beyond and the wonderfully random set of tracks throught the sand.  These people wouldn't recognize Atlantic City today.  
Such detail. All in focus.This is a fantastic photo. You might even say it took my breath away. Nice to see an old shot like this and have everything look so new and clean. I'm amazed to see so much built in 1910. I'm going to have to do some research and discover the Atlantic City timeline. I was always under the impression it lagged behind Coney Island, but here it looks as though they were in place about the same time.
Amazing DetailThis is just a fabulous image. It's fascinating to study the various hotels (I assume), porches, rooflines plus the people on the boardwalk and beach. It just goes on and on.
Mary PoppinsApart from the cigarette ad, it could be a Disney film set. Wonderful photo.
Photography and condimentsNice view of another set of tripod legs and camera just below the apparent center view point of this pan. And just to the bottom right a wood headed greenhouse with the little cart of wood right beside the wood heater.  Windows of the spice/condiment bays stored neatly behind the hedge in back of the green house. You can almost imagine the year long work of someone to make sure this operation always provides fresh things for the chef.
Steve BuscemiAnyone who's watched "Boardwalk Empire" has to believe many of these photos must have been used to create the CGI backgrounds they use for various shots.
[The "Boardwalk Empire" production company is one of our print customers. -Dave]
A Lot of GasI see at least four gasometers (gas holders) in the photo. 
The Twin TowersDoes anyone know what purpose two tall pillars or columns, might serve on the central hotel with the dome and all the gingerbread? They seem strange and lonely. Couldn't be elevator works inside, or ... what?
[Chimneys. - Dave]
Coney & ACConey Island became what it is because of the availability of public transportation. The first subway line or El trains were built in the late 1800s. This afforded relatively cheap rides to the beach. There were hotels but nothing like those in Atlantic City. Although it was a  reasonable distance from Philadelphia and NY it still required the railroads to move the more distant customers to the Jersey Shore. I'm sure there were day trippers but many people came to spend their vacations in the luxury of the the hotels.
Park PlaceThe park in the front of the photo is Brighton Park. The street between the park and the hotel is Park Place.
The Marlborough-Blenheim remained in great condition through the seventies. In 1979, Bally's bought it and replaced it with the Bally's Park Place Casino.
Make Room for Bally'sThe Marlboro-Blenheim started construction in 1902 and completed in 1906.  In 1978 it was demolished to make way for Bally's Park Place casino.  Bally's Wild West Casino now sits where that little park looking thing is and Young's Million Dollar Pier became The Pier Shops at Caesar's in 2006.
Wheelchair RampThe hotel at the end of the great lawn had a wheelchair ramp installed after the building was constructed. You can see how it sits on top of the original staircase. I wonder what VIP stayed there to justify building that?
[The ramps were for "rolling chairs." Not quite the same as wheelchairs. - Dave]

Obviously shot from the Traymore HotelJust as this 1910 postcard picture was obviously shot from the "wedding cake" part of the Marlborough-Blenheim.  Some of the same things are visible from the opposite side such as the Y-shaped walkway in the garden-like area and even the greenhouse.
Beautiful BuildingsI wish Atlantic City looked like this today.  These are gorgeous buildings, unlike the ugly buildings that one sees there now. It must have been a great place to vacation in those days.  
"Boardwalk Empire" BoardwalkThe set is located at Newtown Creek and the East River, Brooklyn side in NYC. It is surrounded with cargo containers stacked four high hung with blue screen so the background can be matted in electronically. Some blue screen can be seen at the left of the photo on a stack of containers.
Google Earth: Dupont and Franklin St., Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY
(Panoramas, Atlantic City, DPC, Swimming, Travel & Vacation)

Custom House: 1915
... can be seen one of the ubiquitous (at the time) municipal gas holders. These got quite a bit of discussion in some earlier Shorpy threads ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/25/2019 - 10:52am -

Circa 1915. "Custom House tower, Boston, Massachusetts." Note the wireless masts next door. Detroit Publishing Co. glass negative. View full size.
What is on the clock face between the 6 and 7?I cannot see what it is from the full view size.
[6:30 - Dave]
Best towah evahGlad to see my *favorite* building in Boston on Shorpy! The Custom House Tower looks just as gorgeous today as it did back then. 
The Art of PhotographyThere is a rather timeless quality about this image, don't you agree?
[The clock is definitely timeless. - Dave]
Look Ma, No Hands!It looks as if the Custom House clock is "out to lunch."  It was only recently that the brothers David & Ross Hochstrasser were successful in making this clock a reliable timekeeper. The clock's original hands were far too heavy and the clock would frequently stop due to the load of the minute hands when they were ascending the dials. Today, the clock's hands are made of lightweight plastic.
Carter's Tested SeedsCarter's seems to have been a British seed producer. Not only did they offer seed for turf around "some of the finest holes" -- one assumes this refers to golf courses -- they offered flower and vegetable seed, included the largely-unloved Brussels Sprouts.
WirelessWhat are the wireless masts for? It's too early for broadcasting.
[Radiotelegraphy goes back to the late 19th century. Its most widespread application was ship-to-shore communication. Wireless telegraph and telephone ("Marconi") masts began to appear in large cities, especially along the East Coast, around 1910. - Dave]

ScalePerfect example of how to get a large building on a tiny site!  Beautifully simple!
My favorite too!I've always loved that building and what it means to Boston's maritime past. What I remember most fondly though is the trip I made in 1970 as a 14 year old geek to take my commercial radio license exam at the FCC offices that were there. Some years later I was able to ride the tiny elevator to the observation deck above the clock. Sadly, I didn't have a camera with me. 
A timeless punGood one, Dave! I think what Fort Worth Guy is asking about is the little door between 6 and 7, which perhaps was needed for someone to assist the heavy hands with making their upward climb on occasion.
[It's where the cuckoo pops out. - Dave]
Checking InThe tower is now a smallish (87-room) Marriott hotel.
Nice RenovationFor those that don't know, the base of the building was completed in 1847, but the twenty-six floor tower was not added until 1913-15.   We don't build them like this anymore!
Gas worksIn the distance can be seen one of the ubiquitous (at the time) municipal gas holders. These got quite a bit of discussion in some earlier Shorpy threads at:
https://www.shorpy.com/node/5575
and
https://www.shorpy.com/node/5587
I think these old dinosaurs have pretty much disappeared from the contemporary city skyline. 
Wonderful ViewAs I write this, I am looking at this very building, as I do every day from my office on the Boston waterfront.  Still one of the more striking profiles on the Boston skyline, even though it is now surrounded by a number of more contemporary structures.  Incidentally, the handsome building upon which the wireless masts are anchored, at the corner of India and State streets, is still there, very nicely preserved, and serves, among other things, as the current home of Kitty O'Shea's, an Irish bar on the State Street side.  And the Gothic beauty with the arched windows at the right margin of the photograph -- the Flour and Grain Exchange Building -- also still syands, also very well-preserved, and newly visible now that the dreadful Central Artery has been torn down.  Terrific photograph!
Weird architecture This is a weird looking building.  It seems to be cross between a courthouse, office building and church.
A SurvivorNice to see that this building still stands. It's amazing how much they destroyed of their old city in Boston.
Somebody Goofed?What's the point of a clock tower if one can't tell the time by it?  Where were the hands at the time this was photographed?
[In a crate with the rest of the clock. - Dave]
Now a Marriott vacation timeshare.It is now a Marriott vacations property. A friend gave my wife and I two nights of their timeshare last week. We were on the 19th floor facing the harbor (the top of the three floors by the fluted columns.)The room key accessed an elevator to the observation deck. We saw a few groups of people not staying there approach front desk and were given an escort to the observation deck. 
ViewWhen I was a boy, the Custom House was the only skyscraper in the City of Boston. I could look across the harbor from my home in Winthrop, and see the Custom House, and the United Shoe Building, the second tallest edifice, illuminated at night by lights on its roof. 
Boston GemI just recently stayed there. I did take a tour of the building. Great history behind it. The 36 original pillars at the east and west entrances are solid granite weighing in at 42 tons each. 1847 means ox had to deliver them. The dome of the original structure was kept intact and the tower built over it and can only be seen from the interior. 
Tropical RadioThe radio towers belong to Tropical Radio. A part of the United Fruit Company. This was their contact with fruit growers in South America. Growing up in a small town south of Boston I had a friend  whose father was employed by Tropical Radio as an auditor and traveled all through South America visiting their locations. 
(The Gallery, Boston, DPC)

City of Cleveland: 1905
... Got Gas! The two round brick building to the right are gas holders for coal gas manufactured at a gasworks. Coal gas was used for ... engines. The circular framework next to the two brick gas holders is a rising and falling gas holder where steel tank sections ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2012 - 11:13pm -

Cleveland, Ohio, circa 1905. "Cuyahoga River from the Viaduct." The sidewheeler City of Cleveland. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing. View full size.
A city on the moveTwas a bright time in Cleveland's history; it was then America's seventh-largest city (it would peak at fifth place in the 1920s) in the midst of a whole civic-building boom downtown. I have a soft spot for my hometown, and am always glad to hear the good news about its renaissance.
From DetroitIf you look on the back of the boat you can see that "The City of Cleveland" is from Detroit. I wonder what Cleveland residents thought of that.
Pollution TestI never knew rivers could burn. The old joke around here is that someone once dipped an exposed film plate in the East River and it developed.
FlammableThe Cuyahoga is notable for having been so polluted that it has caught on fire. According to Wikipedia there have been at least 13 river fires, with the earliest being in 1852. A fire in 1969 was an impetus for the environmental movement.
SafetyFour lifeboats for a vessel of that size?  Is it owned by White Star Line?
Interesting photoI helped refinish the walls and floors of the warehouse building on the right (the one with the word "Ship") in 1978.  It was at that time being used as a furniture showroom and warehouse.  It is nice to see the old place standing more than 70 years before that!
LifeboatsUntil the wreck of the Titanic rules regarding lifeboats were significantly out of date. The British regulations were based on the ship's tonnage. The Titanic actually carried a more lifeboats than the regulations required her to have; vessels over 10,000 tons were required to have boats for 1060 passengers and the Titanic had boats for 1178. The fact that she had a tonnage of 46,000 tons and a maximum capacity of 3,000 people wasn't covered by the regulations. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the City of Cleveland met and exceeded American regulations at the time - seven years before the Titanic.
We've Got Gas!The two round brick building to the right are gas holders for coal gas manufactured at a gasworks.
Coal gas was used for lighting and for cooking, and, sometimes, to power coal gas internal combustion engines similar to liquid gasoline engines.
The circular framework next to the two brick gas holders is a rising and falling gas holder where steel tank sections telescope together and rise and fall with the volume and pressure of gas within.
The framework holds the sections true where they slide up and down in guides on rails on framework similar to guides on elevators.
Only the top rising section has a 'lid', against which the gas presses from below, raising the other round segments which are similar to a tin can with the top and bottom removed.
The sections interlock so the top rising sections pick up the next going up, releases it going down in sequence.
Coal gas and their gas works were replaced in the Fifties and Sixties by natural gas.
Thank You.
Round buildingsDoes anyone know what the two large round buildings in the back right were used for?
Nightly AdventureDeparting Cleveland for Buffalo every night on the C&B Line while Lake Erie was ice free at 7:45 with a 7:30 a.m. arrival in Buffalo.  If you were off to Detroit from "The Forest City" you left at 10 p.m. (after arrival of all trains of the Erie and of the Bee Line) with a 5:30 a.m. arrival in the not yet "Motor City."
Name confusionThis is the 3rd of 4 D+C boats named "City Of Cleveland", plus another early one named simply "Cleveland". This one was built in 1886.  Like most of the early D+C boats, she had twin stacks athwartships, and a walking beam engine.  When the 4th one was built in 1907, this boat became City Of St. Ignace, and later Keystone.
The Great Lakes are a researcher's nightmare (or dream), with most boats having had multiple names during their lives, and many names recycled repeatedly to new boats.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, Cleveland, DPC)

Winter Wonderland: 1941
... New Bedford Edison Gas & Light These are the gas holders for the New Bedford Edison Gas & Light power station, today called the Cannon Street Power Station. The gas holders are visible in these photographs: ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/31/2018 - 10:40am -

January 1941. "Industrial area around New Bedford, Massachusetts." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size.
Fill  'er up!My father used to say men would eat beans and sit on top and fill them up. As a young boy, it sounded possible, and was reinforced one day when we happened to drive by a gasometer and men were sitting on the top. They were probably painting the structure or performing maintenance, but we happened to catch them on a break.
Finally!A gasometer in living color!
Bleak and bleakerThis photo probably looks bleaker in color than it would in black and white. 
New Bedford Edison Gas & LightThese are the gas holders for the New Bedford Edison Gas & Light power station, today called the Cannon Street Power Station.
The gas holders are visible in these photographs:
https://whalingmuseumblog.org/2015/06/14/the-mystery-of-the-new-bedford-...
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:8s45qn13k
https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:8s45qn07f
And especially here, note the dark band near the base:  https://www.insulators.info/pictures/?id=346208369
The buildings and smokestacks don't quite line up, however.  But note the Fairhaven Bridge over industrialized Fish and Popes Islands in the aerial photographs.  There's nothing else like it in New Bedford, and the power plant is between the bridge and the open sea.
New Bedford suffered badly in the 1938 hurricane and many factories were damaged.  Some were demolished.  We may be looking towards what is today the Boa Vista public housing project, across the New York, New Haven & Boston rail yards that became the JFK Memorial Highway.
(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Industry & Public Works, Jack Delano)

Apts. to Let: 1938
... hills around First Avenue. Con Edison had several large gas holders on the flats on both sides of 62nd Street, east of First, and there ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/27/2019 - 5:13pm -

1938. "New York. East 62nd Street." Acetate negative by Sheldon Dick. View full size.
Today it'd be called a "mixed use" developmentIndustrial, commercial, and multi-family residential. The president of the homeowners' association is atop the stairs on the right. 
Pilgrim PowerLooks like a 1935 Plymouth PJ Business Coupe.
Unsure about the one behind it.
Factual Fictional TriviaThe Kramden Chronicles took place in 1955. They lived in their apartment for 14 years when the show began, which means they'd been there since 1941. Just three short years after this photo was taken, Ralph, Alice, Ed Norton and Trixie will be taking up residence, sleeping on the fire escape on hot summer nights and Ralph chasing a sleepwalking Norton across the roof.
King of the Urban JungleEarning his keep keeping the pesky rodents at bay
A street grows in Lenox HillBoth the Apts. and the factory building next door have survived, although the factory is now offices. The candy shop is a cleaners, and the cafe's space is to let. The street and sidewalks appear to be about three feet higher, and the windows for the basement apartments are bricked up.

Where are the apes?When I was a little girl, my grandparents, Carl and Vera Baier, owned a boarding house in Cody, Wyoming, which they called Baier Rooms and Apts. My cousin, equally young, thought that Apts. was really Apes. For years - even now - when I remember that, it's always Baier Rooms and Apes. The building, located on Beck Street, is long gone. No more apes in Cody. 
May the road rise up to meet youI am fascinated by the fact that the street level now is so much higher than it once was.  Anyone have an explanation for why that is?
All still there -- exceptSad to say, the Italian-American Grocery is gone.
Apts to let --I want the one right next to the factory wall.
How do you get to groundfrom the fire escape?
[The ladder lowers. - Dave]
Laundry & the East River DriveThe factory at the far left is a laundry, evidenced by the air handlers and bags of laundry or linens on the truck.  Can anyone read the sign on the van?
[NEW YORK LINEN SUPPLY - Dave]
It's possible that the street was leveled or grading in connection with removing a small hill just north of this spot, visible here. 
Either that, or perhaps it changed when the East River Drive was built.  Back in the 1930s, there was a small bay and inlet that drained from 63rd Street and First Avenue south east to the river at 61st Street.  The land sloped down from a line of hills around First Avenue.  Con Edison had several large gas holders on the flats on both sides of 62nd Street, east of First, and there was almost nothing east of York Avenue, which was less than 100 feet from the high water line.  When the highway was constructed, the area was raised significantly and a bulkhead installed along the river.  East 62nd Street became an entrance to the highway.  No doubt the City graded the streets from First Avenue east.  It may have done work here, too.
Street levelThe Queensboro Bridge's upper-level ramp crosses 62nd Street a half a block west. The ramp was built in the 1950s when a roadway replaced transit tracks. I'm guessing the street was raised to accommodate the slope of the ramp.
Behind Pilgrim PowerIt's a '34 - '36 International panel delivery.
Street levelIt hasn't been raised quite as much as first appears. Look at the threshold of the apartment house: in the old photo the step is even with the top of the stone course at the top of the basement. In the modern photo it's even with the bottom. The lobby has been lowered by about two steps. 
So -- in the old photo it's six steps from the door to the street. In the modern photo it's only two, but if you take into account the lowering of the doorway by another two steps, that means that the sidewalk is only about two steps higher now than in 1938, probably somewhere between 14 and 18 inches.
(The Gallery, Cats, NYC, Sheldon Dick)

Bonus Army Bivouac: 1932
... of the Bonus marchers' camp in Anacostia Flats, with gas holders and what looks like a railroad bridge in the distance. And in the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/13/2014 - 6:38pm -

Washington, D.C., 1932. "Vacated 'Bonus Army' camp." Burned-out remnants of the Bonus marchers' camp in Anacostia Flats, with gas holders and what looks like a railroad bridge in the distance. And in the foreground, what we suppose might be conduit for the D.C. aqueduct. Harris & Ewing glass negative. View full size.
We're the second largest city, man!Yasgur's farm looked so much better before all those kids settled upon it. This devastation was left by the generation who brought the generation who complained about the waste left at Woodstock.  The music may not have been as loud but I can hear humanity's wailing, moaning, and angst driven keening blaring in this image.  Lets just hope the kids had something to eat and stayed off the brown acid.
Landscape featuresThe gasometers are likely those located in square 1025, just east of 12th St. SE, on the west bank of the Anacostia. (1921 Baist atlas extract below.)
As for that conduit in the foreground, it seems unlikely to be an aqueduct. My not-terribly-educated guess is that it's a sewer line running out to Poplar Point.
EDIT: The 1921 Baist atlas shows a labeled sewer line running southwest near the river & then bending west into the Anacostia Flats. Normally these atlases didn't label sewer lines -- instead, simply depicting them using black lines -- so there must have been something about this particular sewer line that made it different/worth noting. I'm guessing that in this case it was the line's above-ground siting.
Anacostia BridgeThe bridge was the Anacostia Bridge. Also known as the 11th Street Bridge. The streetlamps on the bridge are the clue it's a highway bridge and not a railroad bridge. The Bonus Army marched across that bridge everyday to rally on Capitol Hill and lobby Congress for their bonus. 
This earlier photo on Shorpy also shows the ground surface conduit, but from a different angle.
Earthen Flood Contol BermThe feature in the foreground is not a conduit but an earthen flood control berm. I found that in a pdf hard to link to called the Poplar Point RI Scoping Document, p. 2-5. The berm ties into a modern east-west flood wall along Anacostia Drive. 
Makes sense that they'd want to defend against floods. All this land was fill using river channel dredgings. 
Poplar PointThat is the Poplar Point section of Anacostia Park looking east from the former greenhouses of the Architect of the Capitol toward the 11 Street SE bridge across what is now occupied by NACE HQ and AOC Park Police. The structure in the foreground is the Stickfoot Branch storm sewer relocated here in the teens when the "Anacostia Flats" were reclaimed.
(The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, D.C., Harris + Ewing, WWI)

The Sweet By and By: 1938
... in order to raise the gas pressure. These gasometers, or gas holders, acted like an inverted tin can in a bowl of water. More weight on ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/08/2018 - 11:12am -

July 1938. "Gashouse and graveyard. Dover, Delaware." Medium format negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Raising the PressureThis photo is the first that I've seen that shows how (concrete?) blocks have been added to the perimeter of the top course in order to raise the gas pressure. These gasometers, or gas holders, acted like an inverted tin can in a bowl of water. More weight on top would cause an increase of pressure of the gas inside. As the gas was consumed, the inverted "can" would ride the guide rails and slowly descend.
(The Gallery, John Vachon)
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