Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-23
WHEN GAS WAS NEW.
President Of First Company Made
Daring Experiment in His House.

Daring Experiment in His House.
From the New York Tribune
Gas had as much difficulty in making
its way in New York city, apparently. as
did the steel framed skyscraper In each
case it required a man who had the cour-
age of his convictions to prove that It
was SAFE but when once 1t was shown
that the benefits were greater than the
dangers gas and skyscrapers took their
places as necessities. In the case of the
skyscraper the designer had to convince
the owner. who had become somewhat
fearful of the success of his venture be-
cause of the comments of his friends, by
signing a lease for an Office on the top
floor for a long term of years. In the
case of gas, although it had been used
in London and other American cities be-
fore it was introduced into New York,
Samuel Leggett, the president of the COM
paly that proposed TO bring the much
feared illuminant into use here, had to
prove its harmlessness in his own house.
This was in 1893
His heroism attracted a good deal of att
tention and proved to be good adver-
tisement. for hundreds If not thousands OF
persons visited the house to see the iilu.
minant which was said to be SO much
better than candles and fish oil lamps.
Inc mouse was IN the IaSn1OnADlo
quarter of the city, on Cherry Hill. II
was at No. Cherry street. only a few
doors below the big. square Franklin
House. in which President Washington
lived when New York was the capital,
and near the celebrated Cherry gar
denS. 1t was a narrow. three-story and
attic brick structure, with two dormer
windows. An abutment of the Brooklyn
bridge now occupies the site
Stories of the explosive character of gas
had spread without the aid OF a press
agent, and persons hesitated about having
the pipes run through their houses. They
the experiment however. and curious
enough to visit the house of the ven-
furesome one to see what happened. For
the time being all roads in the evening
seemed to lead to Mr.. Leggett's house,
Groups gathered outside In the darkened
street to watch the process of lighting
up. Many couple from the other FASH
ionable quarter-State street. and the foot
of Broadway, gave up the evening walk
along the Battery to wend their way up
Pearl street in the moonlight to No. 7
Cherry street to see the novelty. There
were eager visitors from surrounding
towns. Mr.. Leggett was not averse to
showing people how much better gas was
than any other form of illuminant by taxi
ing them through the house This fact
becoming known throughout the city added
to the number of visitors, and not infre-
quently when Mr.. Leggett, basking in the
Fight of notorlety in his drawing room,
saw races peerlnS III at MIN IfoIH INC
outer darkness he would go to the door
and invite those without TO come dn It
was several years before the prejudice
against gas could be altogether wiped out.
The first gas plant, and the one with
which Mr. Leggetts house was connected.
stood at Hester and Rynders now Gen.
teri street. In the course of time this was
superseded by a larger plant at Center
and Canal streets. where Earie's Hotel stood
later The yearly output In Mr. Leggetts
time was little greater than is&ow distrib-
uted in the course of the hour between
and o'clock on any December afternoon,
when the amount consumed is about $780,
coo cubic feet. In 1S4S, when a new plant
was erected at 21st street and Avenue A.
the city used about $4,000 600 cubic feet. or
about two-fifths of the amount burned on
the day before Christmas last year. One OF
the new gasholders being erected at Asto-
ria having capacity of 100000 cubic
feet. will contain more gas than was used
in the entire city in the course of the year
1892