An historical marker at this location reads as follows: "Gasholder House. Within this 19th century structure was a telescoping iron tank that stored manufactured coal gas until needed to illuminate streets and buildings in Troy."
From Wikipedia:
"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 century. It was designed by Frederick A. Sabbaton who was a prominent gas engineer in New York State. Originally sheltering a telescoping iron storage tank for coal gas, the brick gasholder house is an imposing structure from a significant period in the history of Troy. For twenty-seven years the company held a monopoly on the manufacture of illuminating gas in the city. In the past the building has been opened for musical performances.
Gasholder house
A gasholder house is a structure built to surround an iron gasholder in which gas is stored until it is needed. Before the 1870's, most iron gasholders were constructed without a building structure, but following practices already common in the New England, gasholders houses were adopted in New York. 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.
The gasholder house in Troy, NY bears a plaque from 1873, and the structure appears on an insurance map from 1875. There are eleven known gasholder houses in the United States, with the structure in Troy, NY being one of the largest remaining structures of this type.
Troy gasholder
The Troy gasholder was a telescoping two-lift type. Its top section had a diameter of 100 feet and a height of 22 feet. The lower section, of the telescoping lift, had a diameter of 101 feet, 6 inches, and a height of 22 feet. The gas storage capacity was 333,000 cubic feet of gas. The weight of the gasholder provided pressure for the distribution of gas in the supply mains. The Troy gasholder pressure was 4 1/2 inches. The pressure was measured in inches, in terms of a height of column of water, because the pressure was too low to measure in the more conventional pounds per square inch.
Troy Gas Light Company
The Troy Gas Light Company first supplied illuminating gas in 1848. They maintained a monopoly on the manufacturing of gas until 1875, when the Troy Citizens Gas Light Company was found. Ten years later in 1885, addition competition from the Troy Fuel Gas company was created by the founding of this company. On October 11, 1889, these three companies were consolidated to form the Troy Gas Company. In about 1893, the Troy Electric Light Company (founded 1886), was merged into the Troy Gas Company. Additionally, in 1908 the Beacon Electric Company was merged into the company. In the 1926, the Troy Gas Company, joined with the Mohawk Hudson Power Corporation, which in turn joined with the Niagara-Hudson Power Corporation in 1929.
The gasholder house was in operation in 1912, and taken out of service during the 1920's when a new central plant was built in Menands, NY. In the 1930's the gasholder was removed and sold as scrap metal. The gasholder house has been used for storage by a circus manager, and for marching practice by local bands. It is used for storage and a garage, presently."