A gasholder house is a type of structure that was used to surround an iron

gas holder A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressu ...

, also known as a gasometer, in which

coal gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

was stored until it was needed. There are approximately a dozen of these structures—most constructed of brick in the latter-half of the 19th century—that still stand in the United States. Some examples still stand in Europe as well.

Description

Before the 1870s, most iron gasholders were constructed without a building structure, but following practices already common in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, gasholders houses were adopted in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Additionally, gasholder houses were constructed in England as early as 1825, although the mild climate made them less of an advantage. Gasholder houses were built to protect the iron gas holder from the elements, and enabled it to be built from thinner plates. A gasholder house provided a number of advantages: * Provides a way to withstand the wind, and the forces on the thinner iron gasholder. * Avoids snow loads on the top of the holder, and icing of the guides that controlled the vertical movement of the gasholder. * Prevented the freezing of water in the pit around the gasholder that provides the seal to the gasholder, thus preventing the loss of gas. * There is also some belief that a gasholder house allayed fears about explosion from the stored gas. The gasholder house also provides economic advantage by reducing the condensation of gas in cold weather, and provided an attractive architectural element of the gas complex. There are approximately a dozen known gasholder houses still standing in the United States, with the

Troy Gas Light Company The Troy Gas Light Company was a gas lighting company in Troy, New York, United States. The Troy Gasholder Building is one of only ten or so remaining examples of a type of building that was common in Northeastern urban areas during the 19th centu ...

structure in

Troy, New York Troy is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Huds ...

, being one of the largest remaining structures of this type.

Extant gasholder houses

United States

Listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Source:

Elsewhere

* Gasometer, Dresden, in Germany *

Østre Gasværk Teater Østre Gasværk Teater is a theatre in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark, located in an abandoned gasholder house of the former Østre Gasværk (‘Eastern Gasworks’). The theatre is constructed within the masonry shell that used t ...

, now houses a theatre, in Copenhagen, Denmark * St. Petersburg Gas Plant, at the

Obvodny Canal Obvodny Canal (russian: Обводный канал, lit. Bypass Canal) is the longest canal in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which in the 19th century served as the southern limit of the city. It is long and flows from the Neva River near Al ...

in Saint Petersburg, Russia *

Vienna Gasometers The Vienna Gasometers are four gasholder houses, built as part of the municipal gas works () in Vienna, Austria, from 1896 to 1899. They are located in the 11th district, Simmering. They were used from 1899 to 1984 to house gas holders, also kno ...

, now residential and commercial use, in Austria

Gallery

File:Attleborough Falls Gasholder.jpg,

Attleborough Falls Gasholder Building The Attleborough Falls Gasholder Building is a historic industrial building at 380 Elm Street in North Attleborough, Massachusetts. It is a rare surviving example (of which not more than three were identified in the state in 1987) of a mid-19th ce ...

in Massachusetts File:Concord Gas Holder.jpg,

Concord Gas Light Company Gasholder House The Concord Gas Light Company Gasholder House is a historic gasholder house at Gas Street in Concord, New Hampshire. Built in 1888, it is believed to be the only such structure in the United States in which the enclosed gas containment unit is esse ...

in New Hampshire File:Saratoga Gas Light Company, Gasholder No. 2, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Substation Facili, Saratoga Springs (Saratoga County, New York).jpg,

Saratoga Gas, Electric Light and Power Company Complex The former Saratoga Gas, Electric Light and Power Company Complex is located near the northern boundary of Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It is a seven-acre (2.8 ha) parcel with two brick buildings on it. In the 1880s it became the thri ...

in New York File:Troy Gas Light Company, Gasholder House, Jefferson Street & Fifth Avenue, Troy (Rensselaer County, New York).jpg,

in New York File:Gasometer Dresden.jpg, Gasometer, Dresden, Germany File:Simmering (Wien) - Gasometer (1).JPG,

Gasometer, Vienna The Vienna Gasometers are four gasholder houses, built as part of the municipal gas works () in Vienna, Austria, from 1896 to 1899. They are located in the 11th district, Simmering. They were used from 1899 to 1984 to house gas holders, also ...

, Austria File:Oestre Gasvaerk - Copenhagen.jpg,

, Copenhagen, Denmark File:Gasholder at Obvodny Canal in SPB.jpg, St. Petersburg Gas Plant, Russia

Description

Extant gasholder houses

United States

Elsewhere

Gallery

References

Further reading