When you think of NYC landmarks, the first things that pop into your head might be the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, or even the Brooklyn Bridge. But if you were commuting into the city from Long Island each day by car, during the 1970s, ‘80s or ‘90s, you would have been very much aware of another important landmark: the Elmhurst Gas Tanks.
Photo found online; photographer unknown.
Built between 1910 and 1921, the 200-foot tall cylinders contained natural gas and occupied a six-acre tract of land just north of the Long Island Expressway at 80th Street in – you guessed it – Elmhurst, Queens. Officially, they were called the Newtown Holders, each with a capacity to hold 10 million cubic feet of natural gas – the vapor that wafts through underground pipes into feeder lines for thousands of homes. Because of their proximity to one of the most heavily-traveled roads in the country, traffic reports each morning during rush hour inevitably included warnings such as, “expect a fifteen-minute delay passing the Elmhurst Gas Tanks.” If you were lucky, you might have heard, “traffic is moving well past the gas tanks.”
Due to advancements in modern storage designs for natural gas, the Brooklyn Union Gas Company began dismantling the tanks in 1996. By 2001 the tanks were completely gone and in 2007, the city began construction of a $20 million park on the site. It opened to the public on May 24, 2011.
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10 comments:
This is a great article... I remember these tanks well from when I was a child... I would see them when driving with my parents in our Chevy station wagon when I was around 8 years old in 1964! What a great blast from the past... Thanks for sharing this...
Thanks for the positive feedback, Tom.
I always loved it when our family would drive past the tanks at night with the big neon sign lit up.
Great memory, thanks!
I clearly rem'br the Elmhurst Gas Tanks. I used to see them a lot between 1995 and '96 when I was working in Hempstead and Freeport, Long Island. As a kid I would always hear the traffic report on news radio 1010 WINS mentioning traffic status around the Elmhurst gas tanks area. Tho I didn't live near them they were still a part of my life growing up hearing so much about them on the radio during rush hours. I was fortunate to get a picture of them while passing them on the Long Island expressway.
We lived on 80th Street. My father and mother lived on both sides of 80st before they married, and my sister and I were born there. Some time in 1950 (?) the town allowed the people on the tank side to acquire some of the land in the empty lot between our back yards and the tanks. Actually, the rail line was in between us and the tanks. The kids in the neighborhood made a very narrow diamond to make a baseball field. We tried not to hit a fly ball to center field because that was where second base was. For us, it was a fun field, away from traffic, and just walking around the lot was good. Yes, the tanks were a great landmark, and planes landing at LaGuardia almost flew over them. In fact, I recall the construction for the LIE. (HW)
Does anyone know where I can find some footage of these tanks on video or film?
I remember traffic backups.
My friend climbed them
One minor correction: traffic reports always referred to them as the "Elmhurst tanks" and not the "Elmhurst GAS tanks".
Thanks for the correction, Publius.
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