Skip to main content

Ventilation

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
Gunnison Tunnel
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: TunnelsEra: 1900-1909DateCreated: 1909MontroseState: COCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Gunnison-Tunnel/Creator: Bureau of Reclamation

At its completion, the 5.8-mile Gunnison Tunnel under western Colorado's Vernal Mesa was the longest irrigation tunnel in America. It carried water from the Gunnison River to the Uncompahgre Valley to irrigate 146,000 acres of cropland. 

Work on the 30,582-foot tunnel was first performed manually. Adverse geological conditions provided great challenge for this pioneering project. The drilling crews had to deal with clay, sand, shale, and a badly fractured fault zone. 

YearAdded:
1972
Image Credit: Public Domain; Produced prior to 1/1/1923Image Caption: Gunnison TunnelEra_date_from: 1909
Detroit-Windsor Tunnel
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: TunnelsEra: 1930-1939DateCreated: 1930-Windsor TunnelDetroitState: MIZip: 48226Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/project/Detroit-Windsor-Tunnel/Creator: Value, Burnside, Thoresen, Søren Anton

The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel is a 5,160-foot structure that carries traffic under the Detroit River between Detroit, Michigan and Ontario, Canada. Privately financed, built, and owned, it was completed in 26 months, 10 months ahead of schedule. 

YearAdded:
1982
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Brian Rawson-Ketchum (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Detroit-Windsor TunnelEra_date_from: 1930
Chandler Chemistry Laboratory
Society: ACSMain Category: ChemicalSub Category: Cradles of ChemistryEra: 1860-1869DateCreated: 1865Chandler-Ullmann HallBethlehemState: PAZip: 18015Country: USAWebsite: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/chandlerlaboratory.html, https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/chandlerlaboratory/chandler-laboratory-at-lehigh-university-historical-resource.pdfCreator: Chandler, William Henry , Hutton, Addison

The William H. Chandler Chemistry Laboratory was conceived and planned by William Henry Chandler (1841-1906), professor, chairman, librarian, and acting president of Lehigh University. Designed by Philadelphia architect Addison Hutton and erected between 1884 and 1885 at a cost of $200,000, the building set the standard for laboratory construction for the next half century.

YearAdded:
1994
Image Credit: Public Domain; Produced prior to 1/1/1923Image Caption: Chandler Chemistry LaboratoryEra_date_from: 1865
Subscribe to Ventilation

Innovations

Chandler Chemistry Laboratory

The William H. Chandler Chemistry Laboratory was conceived and planned by William Henry Chandler (1841-1906), professor, chairman, librarian, and acting president of Lehigh University. Designed by Philadelphia architect Addison Hutton and erected between 1884 and 1885 at a cost of $200,000, the…

Read More
Detroit-Windsor Tunnel

The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel is a 5,160-foot structure that carries traffic under the Detroit River between Detroit, Michigan and Ontario, Canada. Privately financed, built, and owned, it was completed in 26 months, 10 months ahead of schedule. 

The project's engineer, the firm of…

Read More
Gunnison Tunnel

At its completion, the 5.8-mile Gunnison Tunnel under western Colorado's Vernal Mesa was the longest irrigation tunnel in America. It carried water from the Gunnison River to the Uncompahgre Valley to irrigate 146,000 acres of cropland. 

Work on the 30,582-foot tunnel was first performed…

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

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.