This Photo of the Week captures the dramatic (albeit planned) destruction of the Maspeth Gas Holders. Located on Maspeth Avenue in Greenpoint, the Holders were built by Brooklyn Union Gas in 1927 and 1948. Together, the tanks held 32 million cubic feet of natural gas and provided consistent pressure for the surrounding residential lines during high demand. The older tank had been decommissioned in 1992 and the younger in 1997. By 1998, the decommissioned tanks were owned by Keystone Energy—a merger between Brooklyn Union Gas and Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO).
In June 2001, Keystone Energy announced that it would be destroying their tanks with controlled explosions within several weeks. Though some residents and community groups sought a temporary restraining order due to environmental and public health concerns (such as the demolition dispersing lead paint particles), the implosion went ahead as planned at 7am on July 15, 2001.
Interested in seeing more images from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our items, or the digital collections portal at Brooklyn Public Library. We welcome appointments to research our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. Our reference staff is available to help with your research! You can reach us at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.
This blog post reflects the opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Brooklyn Public Library.
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