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1973

Embudo, New Mexico Stream Gauging Station
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Water Supply & ControlEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1888EmbudoState: NMZip: 87531Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/project/embudo,-new-mexico-stream-guaging-station/Creator: Powell, John Wesley

A tiny village on the Rio Grande River in northern New Mexico became the training center for the first American hydrographers and provided the first stream-gauging operations of the U.S. Geological Survey. To plan any water system, it is necessary to know the amount of water flowing in the stream or river at all times - including low, normal, and flood conditions. 

YearAdded:
1973
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikicommons/Chris English (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Near Velarde, NM: U.S. Geological Survey Rio Grande Embudo Gaging Station, 2011Era_date_from: 1888
Starrucca Viaduct
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BridgesEra: 1840-1849DateCreated: 1848Starrucca CreekLanesboroState: PAZip: 18847Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Starrucca-Viaduct/Creator: Adams, Julius , Kirkwood, James

The Starrucca Viaduct of the Erie Railroad Company crosses Starrucca Creek in Lanesboro, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest and one of the longest railroad bridges in Pennsylvania. Its 18 slender, semicircular stone arches each span 50 feet and the structure rises 110 feet above the creek.

YearAdded:
1973
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Navin Rajagopalan (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Starrucca ViaductEra_date_from: 1848
Pelton Impulse Water Wheel
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Power GenerationEra: 1870-1879DateCreated: 1878CamptonvilleState: CACountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Pelton-Impulse-Water-Wheel/Creator: Pelton, Lester

Water wheels have been used to power mills and pumps for centuries. However, the traditional water wheel was inefficient: water hitting a bucket would splash back against the next bucket, slowing the wheel. This is especially true when water is delivered to the buckets under very high pressure.

YearAdded:
1973
Image Credit: Public Domain (Author's Choice)Image Caption: Pelton Impulse Water WheelEra_date_from: 1878
Leavitt-Riedler Pumping Engine
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: PumpingEra: 1890-1899DateCreated: 1894Chestnut Hill Pumping StationBostonState: MAZip: 02167Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/pumping/-2-leavitt-riedler-pumping-engine---%281894%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/434e19f3-4729-4fbe-a7dc-2437ea265f18/2_Leavitt_Riedler_Pumping_Engine_1894.aspxCreator: Leavitt, Erasmus Darwin

This machine is an unusual triple-expansion, three-crank rocker engine, which in its day was a high-capacity unit providing outstanding performance for the Boston Water Works Corporation. Designed by Erasmus Darwin Leavitt, Jr. (1836-1916), Engine No. 3 was installed in 1894 to a high-service pumping facility on the south side of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir in Brighton.

YearAdded:
1973
Image Credit: Public Domain (National Park Service)Image Caption: Leavitt-Riedler Pumping EngineEra_date_from: 1894
Ingalls Building
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BuildingsEra: 1900-1909DateCreated: 1903Central Business DistrictCincinnatiState: OHZip: 45202Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Ingalls-Building/Creator: Hooper, Henry N. , Ransome, Ernest L.

The 16-story Ingalls Building, still in use today, was the world's first reinforced concrete skyscraper. Its success led to the acceptance of high-rise concrete construction in the United States.

Melville E. Ingalls, for whom the building is named, spent two years convincing city officials to issue a building permit. Skepticism was high, because the existing height record for a concrete building was only six stories.

YearAdded:
1973
Image Credit: Public Domain; Produced prior to 1/1/1923Image Caption: Ingalls BuildingEra_date_from: 1903
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Rail TransportationEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1887San FranciscoState: CAZip: 94108Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/rail-transportation---1/-1-ferries---cliffhouse-cable-railway-power-houseCreator: Holmes, Howard
The F&CH Cable Railway, which opened in 1887, was designed and built by civil engineer Howard C. Holmes (1852-1921). The line is an amalgamation of the Powell Street Railway and the Park and Cliff House Railway. It was one of the most complicated cable-car systems to run from a single station and had been under construction two years prior to its opening. Andrew Hallidie, a wire rope manufacturer, devised the first operating cable car in the United States in 1873, which ran on Clay Street hill.
YearAdded:
1973
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Caroline Culler (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Ferries & Cliffhouse Cable Railway Power HouseEra_date_from: 1887
Cheesman Dam
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: DamsEra: 1900-1909DateCreated: 190527633-27701 State Highway 211SedaliaState: COZip: 80135Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Cheesman-Dam/Creator: South Platte Canal and Reservoir Company, Allen, C.P.

The Cheesman Dam was the first major dam in the U.S. to incorporate the gravity arch, and upon completion it was the highest gravity arch stone masonry dam in the world. It is the key structure in Denver's water supply.

Three years into original construction, flooding swept away the partially completed rock-filled structure. A solid masonry replacement dam was completed in just five years - a major feat for such a remote and complex project. When it was finished, the dam rose higher than the tallest building in Denver. 

YearAdded:
1973
Image Credit: Public DomainImage Caption: Cheesman DamEra_date_from: 1905
Buffalo Bill Dam
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: DamsEra: 1900-1909DateCreated: 1905-1910Park CountyCodyState: WYCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/project/Buffalo-Bill-Dam/Creator: Wheeler, Edgar

The Buffalo Bill Dam, known as the Shoshone Dam until 1946, was the first mass concrete dam in America. At nearly 325 feet high, it was also the tallest dam in the world at the time of completion.

YearAdded:
1973
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Bob Bolhuis (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Buffalo Bill DamEra_date_from: 1905
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Innovations

Buffalo Bill Dam

The Buffalo Bill Dam, known as the Shoshone Dam until 1946, was the first mass concrete dam in America. At nearly 325 feet high, it was also the tallest dam in the world at the time of completion.

This was one of the first arch dams in the U.S. to be designed using a mathematical method…

Read More
Cheesman Dam

The Cheesman Dam was the first major dam in the U.S. to incorporate the gravity arch, and upon completion it was the highest gravity arch stone masonry dam in the world. It is the key structure in Denver's water supply.

Three years into original construction, flooding swept away the…

Read More
The F&CH Cable Railway, which opened in 1887, was designed and built by civil engineer Howard C. Holmes (1852-1921). The line is an amalgamation of the Powell Street Railway and the Park and Cliff House Railway. It was one of the most complicated cable-car systems to run from a single station… Read More
Ingalls Building

The 16-story Ingalls Building, still in use today, was the world's first reinforced concrete skyscraper. Its success led to the acceptance of high-rise concrete construction in the United States.

Melville E. Ingalls, for whom the building is named, spent two years convincing city…

Read More
Leavitt-Riedler Pumping Engine

This machine is an unusual triple-expansion, three-crank rocker engine, which in its day was a high-capacity unit providing outstanding performance for the Boston Water Works Corporation. Designed by Erasmus Darwin Leavitt, Jr. (1836-1916), Engine No. 3 was installed in 1894 to a high-service…

Read More
Pelton Impulse Water Wheel

Water wheels have been used to power mills and pumps for centuries. However, the traditional water wheel was inefficient: water hitting a bucket would splash back against the next bucket, slowing the wheel. This is especially true when water is delivered to the buckets under very high pressure…

Read More
Starrucca Viaduct

The Starrucca Viaduct of the Erie Railroad Company crosses Starrucca Creek in Lanesboro, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest and one of the longest railroad bridges in Pennsylvania. Its 18 slender, semicircular stone arches each span 50 feet and the structure rises 110 feet above the creek.…

Read More
Embudo, New Mexico Stream Gauging Station

A tiny village on the Rio Grande River in northern New Mexico became the training center for the first American hydrographers and provided the first stream-gauging operations of the U.S. Geological Survey. To plan any water system, it is necessary to know the amount of water flowing in the…

Read More

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