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Photo Hunters: Electric

September 11, 2009 by  
Filed under history, Photo Hunters

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Photo Hunter

This is a very fun theme this week. I had a lot of fun with this one!

The first photo is of a “gasoliere.” They are very rare. We saw one at the Madison County Historical Association. Can you guess what it is?

Gasoliere

It’s a light fixture that was fueled both by gas (natural gas) AND electricity. Before electricity came to the area, people lit their chandeliers with gas. Some very brave reckless folks didn’t want to ditch their beautiful chandeliers, so they converted the gas fixtures to take both electricity and gas. (Electricity back in the late 1800s was rationed– it only ran for two hours in the evenings; therefore the people ran gas for most of the evening, and electric for a few hours). The electric wiring was snaked into the same pipe as that which the gas ran through. Today, such a thing would be unheard of, because a spark from the electric wires could cause a tremendous gas explosion. Yikes!

Here’s another light fixture, in the Art Deco style. It’s at the Stanley Theatre in Utica, New York. You can’t really tell it in the photo, but this fixture is HUGE. You could probably have a dinner for 4 inside the thing.

Ceiling Light

The next photo is of an electrified glass tree! Well, it looks like it, anyway. This is the famous Tree of Life by artist Chilully. It’s at the Turning Stone Casino in Vernon, New York. It’s lovely- it makes the entire room light up.

TreeofPeace

Next: The Mohawk Indians called it “Kauy-a-hoo-ra,” or Leaping Water. It’s Trenton Falls in Barneveld, New York. This area the location of the hydroelectric power facilities in the Town of Trenton. The pipes are completely filled with water. The pipes carry the water down the hill and then into a power station bunker, where the rushing water spins a turbine. This turbine can generate enough electricity to power the city of Utica, NY. As we walked up the trail next to the pipes, we could hear loud metallic pings– it was the sound of the metal expanding and contracting with the warmth of the sun. Kiiiinda creepy.

Click on the photo and go to “All Sizes” for a spectacular view of the structure.

Pipeline Line UP

How HyPower Works sign

The view of the Falls is gorgeous!

The Falls 2

Trenton Falls has generated electricity for the area for about 100 years. The first pipes were made of wood, held up by concrete “ribs.” The wooden pipes are long gone.

The Wooden Pipeline Ribs

We visited at a time where there had been little rainfall (unusual). But the previous year, there had been such severe and catastrophic flooding that huge boulders had been carried down the river. When we saw them, it looked like a giant had taken a great salt shaker and shaken out his cubes of salt into the riverbed.

Again, if you click to enlarge the photos, it makes for a very impressive view.

HydroElec Dam

Incredible Debris Field

And finally, I’ll leave you with the catastrophe that is my home’s electric wiring! I’m in the process of rewiring the house, but half still has no electricity. It’s been rather tough, having no power in some of the bedrooms, and having to rig up extension cords and lamps in the bathroom and kitchen. But one look at our terrible and ancient wiring will show you why we endure it:

The BAD Old Stuff:
Bad Knob Wiring 1

The GOOD New Stuff:
Good hole

Yikes! After I saw the condition of those old wires (most of them dating to the 1930s), I decided to shut off the wiring until I could repair it. By the way, wiring your own home is not too hard– I studied how to do it in a book. I’ve been doing it all myself, even wiring the service panel in the basement. It’s a terrific sense of accomplishment to have done it! :D Plus, I know that it’s now being done correctly!

So that’s my Photo Hunters! How did yours go today? :D

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Comments

58 Comments on "Photo Hunters: Electric"

  1. Teena in Toronto on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 10:15 am 

    It’s gorgeous!

    I played too :)

  2. Susanne on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 10:34 am 

    So pretty but so scary! LOL. Great take on the theme.

  3. kelly on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 11:24 am 

    Wow, very impressive! You have some interesting photos for this week’s theme. I never knew there was just a thing as electric/gas chandliers. The second one was beautiful. I also love the one of the waterfall from above. You are very brave to rewire your own house! It may not be difficult but very daunting to me. You go girl!

    I played, too!

  4. Alice Audrey on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 11:28 am 

    You’ve got a lot of great shots here.

    That gas/electric light makes me shudder.

  5. CY on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 11:37 am 

    Great shot MrS Mecomber, you seems always to have so many different for one theme and makes me so ashamed , haha. :) Mine’s also something on the origin of electricity, just like your turbine drawing. Have a nice weekend! CY from Thailand.

    http://www.tangcyee.com

  6. Dianne on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 12:30 pm 

    Great photos and history lessons. How about you rewiring your house? That is awesome!

  7. Juliana RW on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 12:32 pm 

    Lovely lamp. Thanks drop at my ph post

  8. kaye on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 12:53 pm 

    love your chandeliers–and your new wiring. My wiring is current, my husband is currently remodeling :) Thanks for stopping by.

  9. bonggamom on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 12:55 pm 

    Good thing this particular light fixture didn’t explode! The molding is so pretty.

    My Photo Hunt entry is up here

  10. marta on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 1:30 pm 

    Lot of fun Electric pictures. I like how you included the source in addition to the funky gas/electric gasoliere.

  11. Zoolatry on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 1:35 pm 

    The chandelier is so beautiful yet at the same time very frightening… guess we can be a bit thankful to be in the 21st century and not have that risk (of course, we have “other” risks in our time and place… so). Anyway:
    love historical homes and buildings with their amazing furnishings and appointments.

  12. diXymiss on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 2:15 pm 

    Yet another wonderful, informative collection of shots and stories. The enormous stained glass chandelier is amazing!

    ThanX for visiting. The vintage stove is not mine, but was found in a tiny historic museum at a nearby state park.

  13. CatLadyDiary on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 2:22 pm 

    well imagine that!

  14. Eden on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 2:24 pm 

    WOW! I love your photos and thank you for some historical tidbits as well.

  15. CatLadyDiary on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 2:26 pm 

    Ok, so in your house your just going with just electricity, not mixing it with gas!

  16. Mrs. Mecomber on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 2:28 pm 

    Yes, we are *just* going with electric wiring in my house. LOL. IF I can ever get it all DONE!!! ;)

  17. Carver on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 2:34 pm 

    This was an excellent post for the theme. I enjoyed all of the photographs as well as your narrative. I love the art deco chandelier.

  18. Tab on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 2:54 pm 

    Those light fixtures are so pretty! Yes! Yikes w/ the gas/electric light. I think they have those in the movie, “Meet Me in St. Louis”.
    Those pipes are amazing!
    Great, great job on the re-wiring of your home! I am woman, hear me roar!

  19. Heidi on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 3:28 pm 

    Now that was very well done indeed! You really had no problem thinking up things. Your lights and scupture are so fantastic. And you taught me something new about gas in the early years. I love how you tied the history into the picture. And I am totally amazed that you are brave enough to do your own wiring. I would be to afraid I’d end up with something on fire. Great Job! And thanks for stopping by my blog today!

  20. healingmagichands on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 3:40 pm 

    Now, that would cause me to be full of emotional turmoil, to live in a place where the electric lines and the gas shared a conduit. Especially knowing what I know about the electrical lines of the day. Yikes is right!

    I played too, mine is a little safer.
    http://healingmagichands.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/photo-hunt-electric/

  21. Daisy the Curly Cat on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 3:42 pm 

    What a great assortment of images for the theme. I especially like the gasoliere. I am very impressed that you learned how to do your own electrical work!

  22. shydub on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 3:51 pm 

    Gas really? that is very interesting, I never seen a chandeliers fuelledby gas. Those fixture are very pretty and I like the different land formation in there. Wow you have a lot of electricity pics in here. Nice shot, thanks for sharing

  23. A. on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 4:24 pm 

    An excellent post – very interesting. That art deco light fitting is amazing!

    Thanks for your visit to mine. :)

  24. carolynUSA on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 4:31 pm 

    Great photo and very interesting about this lighting fixture. Thank you for your thorough lesson here! Looks quite modern to have such history…beautiful.

  25. ann on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 4:41 pm 

    We all lived dangerously until “they” told us it was dangerous… just like today… beautiful old gas/electric fixture…

  26. Brita on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 4:56 pm 

    What an interesting post, again. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the visit. The chandelier is beautiful.

  27. Brita on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 4:59 pm 

    Addition to the previous, in Scandinavia one is not allowed to do ones wiring if one is not an officially trained professional, just to be on the safe side. I’d like to do more of that myself too…quite locigal, really…

  28. rdl on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 5:42 pm 

    love the art deco fixture

  29. Bengbeng on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 6:02 pm 

    amazing how ppl came up with ideas to cope with changes in their lives. it must have been very dangerous to do what they did

  30. Lorna on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 6:06 pm 

    I don’t know which of your three approaches I enjoyed more. The fixtures were amazing, the dam was awesome and the 30′s wiring both familiar and scary.

    I had a different perspective.

  31. Squirrel on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 8:00 pm 

    Good post, I liked the historical information you included with your photos. You are doing a fantastic job with your home rewiring.

  32. YTSL on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 8:07 pm 

    Great post. Evident that lots of effort has been put into it!

  33. Cats~Goats~Quotes on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 8:14 pm 

    Your Photo Hunts are always so informative and fun to read.
    Just imagine using gas and electricity that close!
    Great post, as always :)

  34. Isolated Existence on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 8:24 pm 

    Nice shots! I can’t imaging having electricity for two hours only, would go nuts, lol. I like really like the Tree of Life. Rewiring the house on your own, you are very brave! Great accomplishment indeed!

  35. upto6only on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 9:20 pm 

    nice pictures showing electric.

    Happy weekend

  36. Sniffie and the Florida Furkids on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 9:47 pm 

    Great pictures. We loved the Tree of Life picture! We would never trust Mom with our electrical work!!

    Sniffie and the Florida Furkids

  37. Janet on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 9:50 pm 

    such a scary thought, but what a great pic!

  38. MJPhoto on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 11:18 pm 

    Wow very interesting shots…I;m fascinated by the electric tree- somewhat ruined by the tacky sign in the foyer!

  39. baba's special babies on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 11:40 pm 

    Thanks for your visit to my place today and for your post on electric lights versus gas ones..Have a great week-end.

  40. magiceye on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 11:51 pm 

    amazing!

  41. liferamblings on Sat, 12th Sep 2009 11:54 pm 

    great pictures and excellent post for the theme. well done! :)

  42. zhabeehoon on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 12:01 am 

    Cool..i love the shot of the tree of life!

  43. Photo Cache on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 12:59 am 

    very comprehensive tackling of the theme. and I certainly enjoyed the beautiful light fixtures.

  44. maya Gonzales Berry on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 1:08 am 

    It is interesting that the electric lights can be so beautiful, but that they making of electricity can leave such an eyesore in mother nature.

  45. azahar on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 4:06 am 

    Some very cool light fixtures. And the BAD old wiring is positively terrifying!

  46. bing on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 4:54 am 

    you have a wonderful collection for the theme this week!

  47. redge on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 6:43 am 

    great collections, wonderful shots..

    BTW, thanks for visiting..

  48. Rae on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 7:19 am 

    Electric/gas powered chandeliers, pipes with loud metallic ping expanding and contracting… I love your take on the theme: Elegant & Stunning, yet strikingly Dangerous. :)

  49. Marites on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 8:27 am 

    that’s really quite interesting info and I find the gasoliere in the pic pretty:)

  50. jams O'Donnell on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 10:10 am 

    I love the light fittings. As for the wiring the old stuff looked scary. Our own wiring is old and probably needs replacement some time. Happy weekend

  51. shie on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 10:38 am 

    your entries are always something to look forward to, great selection for this week’s theme :D

  52. liz on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 2:40 pm 

    That does sound incredibly dangerous – but very beautiful.

  53. Reese =^..^= on Sun, 13th Sep 2009 11:18 pm 

    That was very interesting and informative! I really appreciate all the work and effort you put into your post.

  54. Jerry on Mon, 14th Sep 2009 5:11 am 

    Beautiful workmanship there – you don’t see that any more!

  55. Annie on Mon, 14th Sep 2009 7:00 am 

    Wow, what a great collection of images!

  56. EG wow on Mon, 14th Sep 2009 3:16 pm 

    OH MY! I can’t believe …well, er…I guess I have to believe people back then lived so dangerously!

    Very interesting post!

  57. Irene on Fri, 18th Sep 2009 8:50 am 

    Interesting. Didn’t manage to visit in time. Internet was down for almost a week since last weekend.

  58. ian on Sat, 19th Sep 2009 9:25 am 

    i like best the lighting fixtures of old- they evoke a sense of opulence and grandeur that today’s fixtures seem to be bereft of. to marry style and efficiency- that would be a winning combination that will make any modern lighting fixture a classic-

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