Steam Heat
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 5:00AM ;)
StreetObservations.com - I should have known this... having worked in Manhattan for more than 20 years, but it just occurred to me that in New York City frequently there is smoke, or steam, rising from the earth. This is particularly true in the winter.
It makes for good photographs, but I was suddenly curious about what causes this phenomenon. There is a detailed explanation on Wikipedia which reveals this is caused by an underground steam heat system. There are plants that create the steam and it travels the many blocks underneath the New York City streets generating heating, cooling and power. This all started way back in 1882.
The steam does provide a bit of drama to the street scene, kind of apocalyptic in some ways. There are spouts, grates, and unplanned leak spots where the smoke escapes. Here are some looks:
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I parked at the spot below for 5 minutes or so with my iPhone as people walked by. This one kind of looked to me like the smoke from a sprinter starter out of the blocks.
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Below is another one where I waited for a bit. This guy was skating by.
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Looks like this guy got a "hot foot".
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I spent some time playing around with effects on this one below.
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Looks like heaven below.
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Lamp silhouette.
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Traffic steam.
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Reader Comments (3)
Ooops! The whole town is burning!? :-)
I like very much this serie of pictures. Well done.
I have only ever seen this in NYC - and I think its very cool - though I don't understand it either. It does create some neat effects which you have caught/highlighted beautifully.