Buildings That Aren't What They Seem

Brooklyn Subway Vent

Back in 2011 I read BLDGBLOG's article about a house in Brooklyn that is a disguised subway vent.  It was a residential brownstone that was converted into a subway vent and emergency exit in the early 1900s.

As luck would have it, I was scheduled to be on the east coast a few months later and built a visit into my itinerary.  We found the house, and it was as odd as I'd imagined.  Hidden in plain view.  How much of the neighborhood is really aware of what lurks behind those doors?


As I walked up to the front door a lady walking down the street said to me, "they make it look so real, don't they".  She knows!


Denver Chilled Water Center

I wasn't planning to blog about the Brooklyn brownstone/vent because BLDGBLOG and others have already done so, and I have no additional information to provide.  But then I read about a building in downtown Denver.  Disguised as an office building, it is really a facility that serves cold water to nearby buildings.

An excerpt from District Energy - Denver’s Historic System: Still Full Steam Ahead:

"A dedicated Chilled Water Center was built in the heart of downtown Denver, ‘disguised’ to look like an eight-story office building. The first cooling customer was served in August 1998. The Chilled Water Center incorporates two ice tanks with storage capacity of 75,000 ton-hrs of cooling. Ice is made at night and melted during the day to provide cold-water service to the buildings, while reducing the electrical requirements on the downtown grid during the peak daytime hours."

In addition to the Chilled Water Center, Xcel Energy also owns/operates Denver's steam system, which is the "oldest continuously operated commercial district-heating system in the world" and has approximately 130 customers.  For comparison, ConEd's steam system in New York City serves approximately 2000 customers.  Denver's Chilled Water Center serves approximately 40 customers.

Unlike the brownstone/vent in Brooklyn, the Chilled Water Center was built for its current purpose.  Prior to the Chilled Water Center, the Ghost Building occupied the space at 15th & Glenarm.  In 1979, it was dismantled so the Chilled Water Center could be built, and re-built in 1985 at 18th & Stout.

Sources

Brooklyn Brownstone Subway Vent: http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/brooklyn-vent.html

ConEd's Steam System: http://gothamist.com/2005/11/28/superhot_steam.php

Xcel's Chilled Water Center in Denver:

• District Energy - Denver’s Historic System: Still Full Steam Ahead 
• http://www.xcelenergy.com/staticfiles/xe/Regulatory/Regulatory%20PDFs/CO-Rate-Case-2012/3/Exhibit-No-JW-1.pdf
• Xcel Energy XTRA - District Heating and Cooling 
• http://www.xcelenergy.com/staticfiles/xe/Corporate/Corporate%20PDFs/Xtra_May2012.pdf

Denver's Ghost Building: 

• DPL - Ghost Building 
• http://creatingcommunities.denverlibrary.org/content/ghost-building
• Denver Post - Ghost Building Made Its Way To 18th Street 
• http://www.denverpost.com/pennyparker/ci_17446853
• Railroad Glory Days - Denver's Ghost Buildings
• http://railroadglorydays.com/GhostBldgs/