LA | Invention & Technology Magazine

Fluid Bed Reactor

Era: 1940sDateCreated: 1942Baton Rouge RefineryBaton RougeState: LACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/fluidbedreactor.htmlCreator: Standard Oil Corporation of New Jersey [now Exxon Corporation]

The first commercial circulating fluid bed reactor, PCLA #1 (Powdered Catalyst Louisiana), went on stream on May 25, 1942, in the Baton Rouge Refinery of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (now ExxonMobil Corporation). This first use of powdered catalysts in continuous operation allowed the efficient cracking of heavy gas oils to meet the growing demand for high-octane fuels. Today, fluid bed reactors are in use worldwide for the manufacture of fuels, chemical intermediates and plastics.

The plaque commemorating the development reads:

YearAdded:

1998

Image Credit: Courtesy ACS/Keith LindblomImage Caption: National Historic Chemical Landmark plaque installed at the site of the PCLA #1 at ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge Refinery.

Cotton Products Research

Society: ACSMain Category: ChemicalEra: 1960sDateCreated: 1970sSouthern Regional Research CenterNew OrleansState: LACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/cottonproducts.htmlCreator: U.S. Department of Agriculture ARS Southern Regional Research Center

By the 1950s, synthetic fabrics - often wrinkle resistant and flame retardant - began to overtake cotton as the dominant U.S. textile fiber. To reverse this trend chemists and chemical engineers at the Southern Regional Research Center initiated research to modify cotton chemically. Their efforts in developing agents that crosslinked the cellulose fibers and in establishing crosslinking mechanisms led to improved durable press fabrics. SRRC studies also developed new agents that improved the durability of flame retardant cotton to laundering.

YearAdded:

2004

Image Credit: Photo courtesy National Archives and Records Administration. (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: The Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana in August 1985.

Huey P. Long Bridge

Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilEra: 1930sDateCreated: 1935Huey P Long BridgeBridge City, LA 70094State: LACountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/project/huey-p--long-bridge/Creator: Modjeski, Ralph

"It remains today one of the great bridge engineering accomplishments for railway and highway bridges built in the country."
- Historic American Engineering Record, Southeast Regional Office, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2005

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge

Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BridgesEra: 1950sDateCreated: 1956Lake Pontchartrain CausewayNew OrleansState: LACountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/project/lake-pontchartrain-causeway-bridge/Creator: Upson, Dr. Maxwell

In the 1940s and 1950s, New Orleans experienced growth. Unfortunately, access from the north to the City continued to be limited by Lake Pontchartrain. Driving around the Lake was a time consuming effort. During this time period, a renewed interest developed to provide a direct connection across the center of the Lake to the north shore. As a result, the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission was formed to build the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge. The original bridge (southbound) was opened on August 30, 1956.

Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/glennaa (CC BY 2.0)

Eads South Pass Navigation Works

Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Water Supply & ControlEra: 1870-1879DateCreated: 1875-1879New OrleansState: LAZip: 70113Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Eads-South-Pass-Navigation-Works/Creator: Eads, James Buchanan

"Eads had to succeed in the face of conventional wisdom which doomed him to disaster. Entrenched authorities not only completely dismissed his theories, but pointed to the indifferent European experiences with what he proposed."
- ASCE Landmark Nomination Proposal, 1982

YearAdded:

1982

Era_date_from: 1875

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

McNeill Street Pumping Station

Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Water Supply & ControlEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1887 Water Works MuseumShreveportState: LAZip: 71101Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/McNeill-Street-Pumping-Station/Creator: Worthington, Henry R.

The city of Shreveport could not justify the cost of building a water distribution system solely for the purpose of supplying potable water. It was a series of disastrous fires in the 1880s that galvanized support for a pumping facility that would provide ample water for firefighting.

YearAdded:

1999

Image Credit: Public Domain (National Park Service)Image Caption: McNeill Street Pumping StationEra_date_from: 1887

A.B. Wood Screw Pump

Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: PumpingEra: 1910-1919DateCreated: 1914 Sewerage and Water BoardNew OrleansState: LAZip: 70165Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/pumping/-3-a-b--wood-screw-pump-%281914%29Creator: Wood, Baldwin

With a water table several feet below ground level, New Orleans faced a crisis after every heavy rainfall, not just through flooding but also through disease (yellow fever and malaria) caused by impure water. New Orleans was dependent on mechanical means for lifting water from its canals and sewage systems. A. Baldwin Wood (1879-1956), a young assistant city engineer, designed and installed a system of large screw pumps (axial flow machines) to syphon water and accelerate drainage. By 1915 the Wood screw pump became the most advanced drainage pump in use.

YearAdded:

1974

Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: This 14-foot tall Wood Screw Pump, constructed 1929, drained even more sewage/water/drainage than the 12-foot drains that preceded itEra_date_from: 1914

Mr. Charlie Oil Drilling Rig

Society: ASMEEra: 1950-1959DateCreated: 1953The Rig MuseumMorgan CityState: LAZip: 70380Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/250-mr-charlie-oil-drilling-rig, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/96eac69e-76ec-49af-aa4a-4a458f818e3c/250-Mr-Charlie-Oil-Drilling-Rig.aspxCreator: Laborde, Alden, Murphy, Charles

Designed by Alden “Doc” Laborde, Mr. Charlie is the first offshore drilling rig that was fully transportable, submersible and self-sufficient, allowing it to drill more than 200 oil and gas wells along the Gulf Coast between 1954 and 1986.

YearAdded:

2012

Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: Mr. Charlie Oil Drilling RigEra_date_from: 1953