Steamy Steampunk Buildings

[J. Wilhelm]

Those awful and depressing photos. I was thinking how utterly gorgeous Perth was and then the image of Perth today was disclosed, what a complete dump.

It is - and it is one of the dirtiest cities in Australia because it rarely rains, so thick dust covers everything and the piles of dog poo and cigarette butts never get washed away. Also the most dangerous for pedestrians - just because the 'walk' sign is green, doesn't mean some idiot won't mow you down. Worst 6 years of our life living there...

I had an Australian roommate from Perth, about 8(?) years ago. He used to tell me that it was a boom town with high prices, large rate of people flux, crime, and all the problems that come with that. There has to be something positive in that place, though. The physical description is similar to the "San Angeles Metroplex"- ha ha, sorry borrowing a movie line to describe the conurbation between Los Angeles and San Diego, and is in a similar geographic situation, also overpopulated and can be very beautiful or a dump, depending on where you go.

[J. Wilhelm]

Flower competition on Juárez Avenue, downtown Mexico City, 1909.

[J. Wilhelm]

Garage of SL Whitestone, showing GE "Runabout Type Mercury Rectifier" charging station for electric cars,
Schenectady, New York, 1911.

Private Garage with electric charger , 1909

Private Garage of Willis T Hanson, with electric charger, 1907

[yereverluvinunclebert]

You can see the wires running up the wall, spaced upon wooden blocks? That was because the wires were bare, uninsulated. 110v it might be, but still enough amps to hurt or injure and sometimes kill just by accidentally leaning or falling onto the bare wires. At those early electrical times there were problems finding the correct materials that would properly insulate the cables containing the electricity. In workshops and factories the general risks were high from exposed machinery and bad working practices, so what more danger did a few more exposed wires provide?

Those mercury rectifiers were so incredibly wasteful of energy whilst turning (cropping) AC current into DC to charge a battery. Incredibly impressive to watch and fascinating tech from the period worth a looksee in itself.

https://edisontechcenter.org/MercArcRectifiers.html

PS. There were even higher voltages in the UK.

[yereverluvinunclebert]

This probably a better video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhaQqgXrMMU

[Hurricane Annie]

Those awful and depressing photos. I was thinking how utterly gorgeous Perth was and then the image of Perth today was disclosed, what a complete dump.

It is - and it is one of the dirtiest cities in Australia because it rarely rains, so thick dust covers everything and the piles of dog poo and cigarette butts never get washed away. Also the most dangerous for pedestrians - just because the 'walk' sign is green, doesn't mean some idiot won't mow you down. Worst 6 years of our life living there...

I had an Australian roommate from Perth, about 8(?) years ago. He used to tell me that it was a boom town with high prices, large rate of people flux, crime, and all the problems that come with that. There has to be something positive in that place, though. The physical description is similar to the "San Angeles Metroplex"- ha ha, sorry borrowing a movie line to describe the conurbation between Los Angeles and San Diego, and is in a similar geographic situation, also overpopulated and can be very beautiful or a dump, depending on where you go.

I lived in Perth for a year in my teens. All orange sand and gum trees. The long stretch of white beach all along the coast a few older suburbs and pubs  were of interest. There's nothing much  redeemable about the place though , {possibly too many New zealanders there} .

[J. Wilhelm]

Thank you for posting. I need one of those!  

I should point out that the wires were not insulated directly by the wooden blocks. They are however completely exposed otherwise, as you write. The insulation was air.  You were expected to be smart enough not to touch the wires. But look closely. They're held by white cylindrical ceramic or glass insulating posts and bars nailed or wired to the timber studs of the wall. You can still get those ceramic posts even today at the hardware shop. They're actually very common. They're primarily used for overhead wiring from AC transformers downconverting from 4000 vac to 125 vac to feed the house mains. A very large number of residential areas in the US still have overhead electric installations. It's one of the oddities about the US., we're like a technology museum, where the old and the new collide.

Spoiler: ShowHide

[RJBowman]

Here's one. The car is great, but the really interesting part is the floor:



This is the garage from Ruthmere Mansion in Elkhart, Indiana, a historic home that was built by the founder of Miles Laboratories.

See the wooden circle on the floor? That's a rotating platform. Many of the cars of the era did not have a reverse gear, so a rotating platform was installed in the garage; kind of like a railroad roundhouse. This saved the driver from having to manually push the car backward out of the garage.

I wish that I could find a photo that showed the entire circle and the control panel.

Also notice the painting on the wall. You don't see much original art in garages these days.

[yereverluvinunclebert]

I should point out that the wires were not insulated directly by the wooden blocks.

Oh yes they were insulated from each other by the spacing on the wooden blocks, ie. the air, that being exactly what I meant.

I ripped up thirty or so yards of lead-covered cable from this old house when pulling up the floorboards. It still has a couple of the original brass and wood light switches from the turn of last century where you can twirl the brass cover with your fingers to expose the live wiring beneath. No earth, 240v


This is the sort.

[J. Wilhelm]

I should point out that the wires were not insulated directly by the wooden blocks.

Oh yes they were insulated from each other by the spacing on the wooden blocks, ie. the air, that being exactly what I meant.

I ripped up thirty or so yards of lead-covered cable from this old house when pulling up the floorboards. It still has a couple of the original brass and wood light switches from the turn of last century where you can twirl the brass cover with your fingers to expose the live wiring beneath. No earth, 240v


This is the sort.

You can still get that type (bell shaped, toggle) in bakelite, made in the US in the 1970s. More "modern" versions (stylistically speaking, but also with no ground, single pole-single throw) were available around the same time in Mexico - also in bakelite. The reason is that until very recently (1970s) there were still switches with no grounding wire, and there was no grounding wire in many buildings. Grounding standards were revamped around that time and Mexico always was a few years behind the United States, but Mexico had to follow the US, for obvious reasons. Around the 1980s Mexico caught up with the US by switching to 60 Hz and using full 3 pole jacks and plugs.

[J. Wilhelm]

President Porfirio Díaz arrives for the inauguration of the main post office,
The "Palacio de Correos" (Postal Palace) in Mexico City, 1907

[J. Wilhelm]

The Balmori Cinema opens doors on 12 September 1930. Mexico City.
It featured 1878 seats, and was located on 121 Álvaro Obregón Ave.

[J. Wilhelm]

In 1866, four mule drawn trolleys were introduced in Mexico City
during the 2nd Mexican Empire of Maximilian (2nd French Intervention).



By 1890, Mexico City counted with 600 mule drawn trolleys.

[chironex]

Interiors of Fairymead House.

[chironex]

I'm constantly getting the promos for this on every video I watch:
https://www.atlasofwonders.com/2020/10/the-mortuary-collection-house-ravens-end.html

[Sorontar]

HRH Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born at Mon Repos Palace.

"Mon Repos Palace, on the Greek island of Corfu, is reached by a long, shaded driveway flanked by gardens that meanders its slightly steep path towards the mansion.

It was built in 1826 by Frederick Adams, the then British commissioner, as a gift to his spouse Nina Palatianous, during the almost four-decade-long era when Corfu was a protectorate of Britain due to the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1815 after the defeat of Napoleon."

https://www.theage.com.au/link/follow-20170101-p53ea2

[chironex]

That name (Mon Repos) sure gets around.

[Mercury Wells]

Kimnel Hall

(Currently up for sale)

[RJBowman]

Here's one in the town where I live that I've been meaning to get a photo of:



This is the old Ament Milling Company of Monroe, Michigan. The small brick building holds the offices. I love the carved stone sheaf of wheat over the door.


Modern editions have been added to the building but you can recognize which parts are original.



The four-story back section is the original mill.

The old sections were probably built circa 1910. The company got acquired and reacquired in recent decades and is now part of a company called Bektrom Foods which mostly makes store-brand food mixes. I've read online that when it was still Ament, it was a common field trip for local grade school classes and many residents have fond memories of bringing home a free package of muffin mix from the field trip.

[chironex]

Old Museum, Brisbane.

Ipswich State Primary School.

[chironex]

I was in Brisbane over the weekend:

[J. Wilhelm]

Not Victorian, but this is an interesting photo.

Hotel Geneva, Mexico City. Circa 1930.

[von Corax]

Not Victorian, but this is an interesting photo.

Hotel Geneva, Mexico City. Circa 1930.

Maybe not Victorian, but very Steampunk, I'd say.

[J. Wilhelm]

Not Victorian, but this is an interesting photo.

Hotel Geneva, Mexico City. Circa 1930.

Maybe not Victorian, but very Steampunk, I'd say.

It's very cinematic, isn't it? It's also very Diesel, proper to the era. Those "bay windows" (I don't know what to call them) are very unusual. On the Victorian side, it looks like they took the alley space between two buildings to build the lobby around the crystal dome, then later they installed the stained glass and the columns.

To add an Indiana Jones touch, they used a type of artisan furniture made from rosewood and leather, which is well known in Mexican Beach resorts

Being the 1930s, I think they wanted to give it a bit of the "exotic" look. It also gives a Victorian "artifacts from the Empire" look.  I kind of expect to see Humphrey Bogart to walk into the scene at any time.

[chironex]

Don't get me started on that roof.