Skip to main content

1984

Tower Silo
Society: ASABEMain Category: Agricultural & BiologicalSub Category: StorageEra: 1870-1879DateCreated: 1873Lyle C. Thomas ParkSpring GroveState: ILZip: 60081Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asabe.org/awards-landmarks/asabe-historic-landmarks/tower-silo-18.aspxCreator: Hatch, Fred L.

First Tower Silo Designated A Historic Landmark Of  Agricultural Engineering. The First Tower Silo In America Was Erected Near This Site On The Hatch Farm, One Half-Mile East Of Spring Grove, Illinois. Fred L. Hatch And His Father, Lewis Hatch, Erected This Silo In October 1873, After Fred Graduated From The Illinois Industrial University. (Now The University Of Illinois). Textbooks On Agriculture Were Scarce, And Professor Willard F. Bliss Translated French And German Pamphlets On Silage Production Wherein The Entire Corn Plant Was Buried In Pits, And This Inspired Young Hatch.

YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Doc Searls (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: A modern tower silo
St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Rail TransportationEra: 1830-1839DateCreated: 18352817 Canal Street
New OrleansState: LACountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/rail-transportation---2/-101-st--charles-avenue-streetcar-line-%281835%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/40ef6e7c-697d-4f77-8daa-059a37f698b3/101-St-Charles-Avenue-Streetcar-Line-1835.aspxCreator: Perley A. Thomas Car Company

The St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line is the oldest surviving interurban-urban passenger rail transportation system in the United States. Originally incorporated as the New Orleans Carrollton Rail Road in 1833, service began in 1835. A variety of motive power had been used including horses, mules, overhead cable, steam engines, and ammonia engines before electrification in 1893. The 900-series cars presently in service were designed and built by the Perley A. Thomas Car Company of High Point, North Carolina, in 1923 to 1924.

YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Original Image: Courtesy Wikipedia/Falkue (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: St. Charles Avenue Streetcar LineEra_date_from: 1835
SS Jeremiah O'Brien
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Water TransportationEra: 1940-1949DateCreated: 1942Pier 45 in Fishermans WharfSan FranciscoState: CACountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/water-transportation/-98-ss-jeremiah-o-brien-%281943%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/f558ea74-61d6-4650-92f3-d980c237c373/98-SS-Jeremiah-O-Brien-1943.aspxCreator: New England Shipbuilding Corporation

The SS Jeremiah O'Brien, an emergency cargo vessel of the type EC2-S-C1 better known as Liberty Ships, is one of two operative survivors of 2,751 ships, the largest fleet of single class ever built. The other is the SS John W. Brown, now in Baltimore (not operative at the time of the landmark designation). Between March 1941 and November 1945, eighteen US shipyards produced 2,751 ships. The design stressed minimum cost, rapidity of construction, and simplicity of operation. The original design and configuration have not been altered.

YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Sanfranman59 (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: SS Jeremiah O'Brien 1Era_date_from: 1942
SS Great Britain
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Water TransportationEra: 1840-1849DateCreated: 1843Great Western DockyardBristolZip: BS1 6TYCountry: UKWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/water-transportation/-97-ss-great-britain-%281843%29Creator: Patterson, William

The innovative SS Great Britain, launched in 1843, was the first iron-hulled, screw-propelled ship to cross any ocean and led mercantile history into British domination in the late nineteenth century. Standard practice of naval and merchant ship construction derived from this ship. The compartmented hull, unprecedented 1,500-horsepower engine with chain drive, and many other seminal features were the designs of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. New design features included a balanced rudder, an electric log, a double bottom, and water-tight bulkheads.

YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Terry Whalebone (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: SS Great BritainEra_date_from: 1843
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)
Society: IEEEMain Category: ElectricalSub Category: Nuclear and Plasma SciencesEra: 1960-1969DateCreated: 1962Stanford Linear AcceleratorPortola ValleyState: CAZip: 94028Country: USAWebsite: http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestones:Stanford_Linear_Accelerator_Center,_1962Creator: Stanford University

The basic research tool at SLAC is an intense beam of electrons that have been accelerated by an electric field equivalent to 30 billion volts, making this the most powerful electron beam in the world.

The two-mile linear accelerator produces this field using high-power microwaves traveling through an evacuated waveguide. Electrons injected into one end of this pipe are continuously accelerated by this traveling field to very high energies.

YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Jvimal (CC BY 3.0)Image Caption: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)Era_date_from: 1962
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Research and DevelopmentEra: 1960-1969DateCreated: 1962Stanford Linear AcceleratorMenlo ParkState: CAZip: 94028Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/research-and-development/-92-stanford-linear-accelerator-center-%281962%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/f8e54d6f-6e0d-4f7d-ad3a-ff357142f07b/92-Stanford-Linear-Accelerator-Center-1962.aspxCreator: Stanford University

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center was renamed in 2009 to the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Notable for: unique electromechanical devices and systems in the longest accelerator in the world

YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Jeff Keyser (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Stanford Linear Accelerator CenterEra_date_from: 1962
Panama Canal
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Water TransportationEra: 1910-1919DateCreated: 1914Isthmus of Country: PanamaWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Panama-Canal/Creator: Wallace, John , Stevens, John F.

The United States became interested in a water route through the Panamanian isthmus in the mid-1850s, but it was the French who first attempted to build the Panama Canal. Led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal in Egypt, the French began the project in 1876. Conditions were brutal: rampant yellow fever and malaria; massive landslides and flooding; sweltering heat; and construction equipment that was too light for the job.  

YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Naval Surface Warriors (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Panama CanalEra_date_from: 1914
Hoover Dam
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: DamsEra: 1930-1939DateCreated: 1935Colorado RiverBoulder CityState: AZZip: 86443Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Hoover-Dam/Creator: Six Companies, Inc., Davis, Arthur

In 1918, the U.S. Reclamation Service's director and chief engineer Arthur P. Davis proposed a dam of unprecedented height to control the devastating floods on the Colorado River, generate hydroelectric power, and store the river's ample waters for irrigation and other uses.

YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Courtesy of Flickr/JoshBerglund19 (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Hoover DamEra_date_from: 1935
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Environmental ControlEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1920Hudson River Greenway; ManhattanNew YorkState: NYCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/environmental-control/-93-holland-tunnel-ventilation-system-%281920%29Creator: Freeman, Milton
The first long underwater tunnel in the world designed for motor vehicle use was built from 1920 to 1927. The 29.5-foot-diameter, 8,500-foot-long twin tubes of this tunnel were shield-driven by the pneumatic method through extremely difficult river-bottom conditions that were overcome by the ingenuity and determination of its engineers, Clifford M. Holland, Milton H. Freeman, and Ole Singstad. They were the largest in the United States when built.
YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Bill Benzon (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Holland Tunnel Ventilation SystemEra_date_from: 1920
Golden Gate Bridge
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BridgesEra: 1930-1939DateCreated: 1937Golden Gate National Recreation AreaMill ValleyState: CAZip: 94941Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Golden-Gate-Bridge/Creator: Ellis, Charles , Strauss, Joseph

Put in service in 1937, this world-renowned bridge, conceived by Joseph Strauss and designed largely by Charles Ellis, was the longest single span (4,200 feet) in the world for a quarter century.

As with many civil engineering projects in their conceptual stages, naysayers scoffed at the Golden Gate Bridge. They said it would be technically unfeasible or too expensive to bridge the Golden Gate, a 1.7-mile-wide opening separating the Pacific Ocean from the San Francisco Bay. They said that the channel was too deep; the tides and winds too strong; the span too long.

YearAdded:
1984
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Salim Virji (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Golden Gate BridgeEra_date_from: 1937
Subscribe to 1984

Innovations

Lowell Waterpower System

Much of the sophisticated system of canals, dams, gates, and tunnels built to manage water power in 19th-century Lowell is preserved today as the basis of the Lowell National Historical Park and the Lowell Heritage State Park. Pictured above is the Boott Penstock, an early channel adjacent to…

Read More
Idols Station, Fries Manufacturing & Power Company

This run-of-the-river plant is a typical example of late nineteenth-century small-scale (750 kilowatt) low-head hydroelectric power technology. The Fries Manufacturing and Power Company began operating the Idol's Station on April 18, 1898, making it the first commercial hydroelectric plant in…

Read More
Quincy Mining Company No. 2 Mine Hoist

The largest mine hoist in the world, it serves the two incline skipways of Shaft No. 2, almost 9,300 feet long. The overhead winding drum has a diameter of 30 feet, of which the cylindrical center section is 10 feet long. The two 10-foot long end sections taper down to a 15-foot diameter. Wire…

Read More
First practical US helicopter, pioneering the single-main-rotor concept

America's first practical helicopter, it pioneered the single main rotor concept that became the predominant helicopter configuration throughout the world. The principles that were developed and demonstrated by the VS-300 had direct application in the design of the early mass-production…

Read More
Norfolk & Western #611, Class J Steam Locomotive

Developed for use in both the plains and mountains, this coal-fired passenger locomotive was among the most advanced in design, construction, and performance of any 4-8-4. Designed by Norfolk & Western engineers and built in the Norfolk & Western Roanoke shops, the 611 was specially…

Read More
IBM 350 RAMAC Disk File

The IBM 350 disk drive storage development led to the breakthrough of on-line computer systems by providing the first storage device with random access to large volumes of data. Since its introduction on September 4, 1956, it has become the primary computer bulk-storage medium, displacing…

Read More
This unit, retired from the Belle Isle Station of the Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company, was the first gas turbine to be used for electric utility power generation in the United States. It represents the transformation of the early aircraft gas turbine, in which the engines seldom ran more than… Read More
Columbia River Scenic Highway

A project that combined great engineering ambition and burgeoning civic pride, the Columbia River Highway was built at the dawn of the automobile age out of a desire to bring greater attention to the growing population and natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. By the time of its completion in…

Read More
Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge

The total length of the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge is 7,374 feet. Its construction required 100,000 cubic yards of concrete and 8 million pounds of steel reinforcing rods.

Consisting of 28 arches, each 185 feet long, the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge carrying automobile traffic…

Read More
Golden Gate Bridge

Put in service in 1937, this world-renowned bridge, conceived by Joseph Strauss and designed largely by Charles Ellis, was the longest single span (4,200 feet) in the world for a quarter century.

As with many civil engineering projects in their conceptual stages, naysayers scoffed at the…

Read More
The first long underwater tunnel in the world designed for motor vehicle use was built from 1920 to 1927. The 29.5-foot-diameter, 8,500-foot-long twin tubes of this tunnel were shield-driven by the pneumatic method through extremely difficult river-bottom conditions that were overcome by the… Read More
Hoover Dam

In 1918, the U.S. Reclamation Service's director and chief engineer Arthur P. Davis proposed a dam of unprecedented height to control the devastating floods on the Colorado River, generate hydroelectric power, and store the river's ample waters for irrigation and other uses. A dam project of…

Read More
Panama Canal

The United States became interested in a water route through the Panamanian isthmus in the mid-1850s, but it was the French who first attempted to build the Panama Canal. Led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal in Egypt, the French began the project in 1876. Conditions were brutal…

Read More
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center was renamed in 2009 to the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Notable for: unique electromechanical devices and systems in the longest accelerator in the world

The Stanford two-mile accelerator, the longest in the world,…

Read More
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)

The basic research tool at SLAC is an intense beam of electrons that have been accelerated by an electric field equivalent to 30 billion volts, making this the most powerful electron beam in the world.

The two-mile linear accelerator produces this field using high-power microwaves…

Read More
SS Great Britain

The innovative SS Great Britain, launched in 1843, was the first iron-hulled, screw-propelled ship to cross any ocean and led mercantile history into British domination in the late nineteenth century. Standard practice of naval and merchant ship construction derived from this ship. The…

Read More
SS Jeremiah O'Brien

The SS Jeremiah O'Brien, an emergency cargo vessel of the type EC2-S-C1 better known as Liberty Ships, is one of two operative survivors of 2,751 ships, the largest fleet of single class ever built. The other is the SS John W. Brown, now in Baltimore (not operative at the time of the landmark…

Read More
St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line

The St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line is the oldest surviving interurban-urban passenger rail transportation system in the United States. Originally incorporated as the New Orleans Carrollton Rail Road in 1833, service began in 1835. A variety of motive power had been used including horses,…

Read More
Tower Silo

First Tower Silo Designated A Historic Landmark Of  Agricultural Engineering. The First Tower Silo In America Was Erected Near This Site On The Hatch Farm, One Half-Mile East Of Spring Grove, Illinois. Fred L. Hatch And His Father, Lewis Hatch, Erected This Silo In October 1873, After Fred…

Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.