TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation?

Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation?

hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
15 Jul 2006 11:45:42 -0700

Garrett Wollman wrote:

> I've been in one of the vent shafts at the Empire State Building, and
> I've seen the top of one at Boston's Prudential Tower. After central
> air was installed at Empire, the vent shafts gained a new purpose as
> communications corridors, particularly connecting the broadcast
> facilities on the 79th, 80th, 81st, 84th, and 85th floors.

In Chicago, there were a large series of narrow tunnels that carried
freight (mostly coal). Because tunnel air was cool, some large
buildings bought the air for internal use.

The tunnels were abandoned in the early 1950s (IIRC).

In more recent years they have been used for utility conduits. I
think the original purpose of the tunnel but never used was a
telephone cable vaults.

A few years ago one of the tunnels was breeched by a contractor which
caused tremendous flood damage.

The Central Electric Railfan's Association has a book on the tunnels.

As to older buildings being more "ventilation friendly" that was true
to an extent. None of my public schools had air conditioning. On
some spring and fall days the weather could be very hot (90) and the
classrooms would be pretty miserable (depending on sun exposure).
Fans would've been a big help. I noticed today some classrooms have
been retrofitted with window a/c units in all the schools I attended.

Initially a/c was installed mostly to protect equipment or improve
industrial processes, not to make people more comfortable.

The army installed A/C in the assembling hut on Tinian for the
Manhattan Project work. That in itself attracted great attention to a
project that was desperately trying to keep a low profile.

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