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 steam At the same time that Edison was developing his system of central station power, another centrally produced energy source — steam — also was under development.
The steam heating industry was still in its infancy, and the challenges of introducing the system to a city as large as New York seemed almost insurmountable. Yet Wallace C. Andrews decided to take on that challenge. He acquired franchise and license rights to deploy the Holly system, and incorporated the Steam Heating and Power Company of New York in 1879. Andrews acquired a competing firm that was formed in 1880, the New York Steam Company, and the two companies consolidated in 1881 under the latter name.
On March 3, 1882, the company supplied steam to its first customer, the United Bank Building at 88-92 Broadway, on the corner of Wall Street. By December 1882, New York Steam boasted 62 customers. By 1886, the firm had 350 customers and five miles of mains, and began an expansion uptown. The system proved its reliability by operating throughout the deadly blizzard of March 11-14, 1888. Through the years, the company expanded and made numerous improvements in the design of steam meters, controls, insulation, and even the pipes themselves.
During the 1930s, the New York Steam Company maintained mutually beneficial business arrangements that would be a portent of its eventual consolidation. The company supplied steam to the Consolidated Gas Company and its affiliated gas and electric companies in Manhattan. In turn, The New York Edison Company supplied steam from its Waterside and Fourteenth Street electric generating stations during the morning hours on cold days to help meet peak energy needs. In 1932, Consolidated Gas acquired approximately 75 percent of New York Steam's common stock, and on March 8, 1954, the New York Steam Company fully merged with Consolidated Edison.
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Building on the work of Sir Hugh Plat and James Watt, Birdsill Holly of Lockport, New York, heated his house, and later, much of the town, with steam. In 1877, he formed the Holly Steam Combination Company (later reorganized as the American District Steam Heat Co.). By 1882, Holly, the "father of district steam heating," had been issued 50 patents related to steam heat; he had developed a steam meter and his district steam system was being used in cities across America.
With needed capital and other preparations now in place, Andrews and New York Steam's first chief engineer, Charles E. Emery, divided New York City into ten heating districts, acquired land for central boiler plants, and began to lay the steam mains. Emery, a marine engineer during the Civil War, was considered one of the leading steam engineers of his day. For this unprecedented venture, his experience and ingenuity would be put to the test as he solved numerous technical challenges. Often he would consult with Thomas Edison when the two men happened to meet in the trenches, discussing the challenges of building their respective energy systems.
New York Steam's first central steam boiler plant, located at Cortlandt, Dey, Greenwich, and Washington Streets, was completed in 1881 and included 48 boilers and a 225-foot chimney — at the time, it was one of the tallest features of the lower New York skyline, second only to the spire of Trinity Church. The district steam installation was so novel it was the cover story of the November 19, 1881 issue of Scientific American.
The company built by Wallace Andrews was to go on to even greater success during the 20th century, but he was not to see it. During the night of April 7, 1899, Andrews and much of his family perished in a house fire. His brother-in-law, G.C. St. John, who was out of town when the tragic fire occurred, was made president of the company and guided it for more than a decade during a prolonged legal battle over Andrews' will.
The paralyzing effects of the litigation made necessary a financial reorganization that lasted from 1918 to 1921, but ultimately left the company, now called the New York Steam Corporation, prepared for a new era of expansion. By 1932, the tremendous Kips Bay Station (occupying the entire block along the East River between 35th and 36th Streets) and five other stations provided steam to more than 2,500 buildings. Among them were some of New York's most famous landmarks: Grand Central Terminal, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Daily News Building, Tudor City, Pennsylvania Station and Hotel, and Rockefeller Center. Just about every new skyscraper was a testament to the efficiency and reliability of steam service: most were built without smokestacks or individual heating plants.
Today, Con Edison operates the largest district steam system in the world. The system contains 105 miles of mains and service pipes, providing steam for heating, hot water, and air conditioning to more than 100,000 commercial and residential establishments in Manhattan.