The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-11-25
THE CENTENARY
OF GAS LIGHT

Baltimore will celebrate next week
the one hundredth anniversary Of the
first use of gas in street lighting on
this side of the Atlantic, but Philadel-
phia will anticipate the Maryland Gel
ebration a few days, since to-day is
the centenary of the lighting of a
theatre by gas in the Quaker City
the first amusement place in Ameri-
ca Illuminated in that manner.
It was the Chestnut Street Theatre
which was the pioneer in testing the
new illuminant. The trial was made
on the first night of the season, No
vember 20, 1915. Philade1phians were
not wildly excited by the innovation
as public exhibitions of gas lightiEs
had previously been given by Michael
Ambrose, an Italian manufacturer OF
fireworks, DR.. Charles Kugler and 9TH
ers.
It was Ambrose who gave the first
exhibition of illuminating gas in Phil
adelphia- probably the first in Amer
lea. That was in 1895, thirty years
after Cavendish's discovery of nitro.
gen gas, and twenty years before an
attempt was made to put gas to a
Theare The Italian f1reworkers
staged the display in an amphitheatre
in Arch street, between Eighth and
Ninth streets. Iron tubes with holes
bored in them were bent into repre-
sensations Of various objects, and
when the escaping gas was ignited, af-
forded a spectacle very pleasing to
Philadelphians. 1t was only a
show however, and the spectators
never dreamed that gas would re.
place sperm oil lamps for illuminat-
ing purposes.
While Baltimore was the first Amer
lean city to try gas lighting in its
streets, Philadelphia might have had
that honor several years earlier II
the people had not been so cautious. J
c.. Humphreys made several attempts
in 1903 and succeeding years to con-
vince the city fathers Of the desira-
bility of gas for street lighting. The
members Of Councils were aghast a,
the very idea, declaring that such q
process would be fraught with grave
danger, and was not to be thought
of. Reynolds finally suggested the
use Of high towers for the street lights
this suggestion was turned down.
The successful use of gas in the
Chestnut Street Theatre, and the ex-
periments Of DR.. Kugler in the State
House, did not reassure the city dads
They sent a committee to inspect the
lights in the playhouse, but the sceptics
were not convinced. The Chestnut
Street Theatre was rebuilt in 1922, at
ter having been destroyed by fire the
previous year, and the use Of gas was
discontinued in the new edifice. In
the meantime William Henry, a cop
persmith, had set up a. gas plant in
his home in Lombard street. and this
was the first and for years the only
dwelling house in America lighted by
gas.
It is amusing to read the objections
to gas lighting voiced by the Philadel-
phians of that period. The Chestnut
Street Theatre lost many Of its old pa
irons when it installed a gas plant. fo1
they did not dare trust themselves in
building containing so hellish a con-
traption. The general use of gas in
the streets, it was declared by some
authorities" would so vitiate the at
mosphere that the inhabitants would
die like flies in the first cold spell
others asserted that the refuse from
the gas works would poison the water
and kill all the fish in the two rivers
In one petition against the use OF gas
the remonstrants expressed the belief
that illuminating gas is "as ignitable
as gunpowder and nearly as fatal In
it's Effects
Gas was introduced in Boston II
1922, and the following year the New
York Gas Light Company was incor-
porated with capital Of 100000
but did not enter into successful ope-
ration Until 1927. 1t was not unit
1886 that the first general gas works
in Philadelphia began operation. By
1860 most of the big cities of the Unit
ed States and Canada had gas works
the price per thousand cubic feet rang
ing from $3.50 in Pittsburg, 1888 In
Philadelphia and $3.50 in New York
Boston and Cincinnati, to as high as
81 in Watertown, N. Y, Charlotte, N
c., and some other places.