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UER Store
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sweet UER decals:
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779 online
Server Time:
2024-05-09 23:17:17
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Location DB >
United States >
Oregon >
Portland >
Portland Gasworks
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created by rogerneon
on 9/26/2004 11:20 PM
last modified by Deuterium
on 11/19/2015 6:46 PM
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Publically Viewable |
This location has been labeled as Demolished, and therefore can be viewed by anyone.
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At first glance, this building with its windows, fire escape, and clock tower appears to be an abandoned school with a gymnasium wing attached. However, it is in fact an abandoned gasworks. The clock faces in the tower (note the round holes with wooden covers) were only recently removed. Be aware that it's near a heavily traveled highway and an access road leading next door has a 24 hour guard. The 24/7 security shack was added in 2006. To the west is a US Army Corps of Engineering warehouse, which seems quiet at night.
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Type: Building
Status: Demolished
Accessibility: Difficult
Recommendation: forget it
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rust air quality Toxic waste, guano
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fences barbed wire razor wire 24 hour guard locked gates wooden boarding
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Before the use of natural gas became widespread, virtually every city had at least one gasworks where gas was "manufactured," usually out of coal, but sometimes oil. Initially, gas was made from coal in Portland, but with the construction of this facility (Gasco Building) in 1913, oil was used at the raw material. The manufacturing process produced a considerable amount of waste, usually generically called "coal tars." Even in the 19th century, it could not be simply discarded, and chemists went to work trying to find uses for coal tar. Paint, insecticide, antiseptics, early plastics, and paving materials were just a few of the products extracted from coal tars. When this plant began operation, one of its waste products was "lamp black," which is what accumulates on the inside of an oil lamp's glass chimney when the wick is turned up too high. The gas company chose to dispose of it by dumping it in the nearby Willamette River. In a landmark case, the Army Corps of Engineers sued the gas company under the provisions of the Inland Waterways Act to stop this practice. The Corps won the case, and the gas company was forced to find another means of disposal. This was done by drying and compressing the lamp black into briquettes which were then sold as fuel. It's hard to see how the gas company actually lost, in view of the fact that what had been waste became a revenue-creating product. The following is a quote from the company's web site describing byproducts of the gas manufacturing process: "Briquets, the principal by-product, were delivered to homes and businesses. Other by-products included electrode pitch, naphthalene and Gasco motor fuel, which was a mixture of gasoline and the by-product benzol. In 1955, gross revenues from by-products totaled $5,180,746 - slightly more than one-third of the year's entire gross revenues." Operations at this site were apparently closed down in 1956 when Portland connected to a transcontinental natural gas pipeline. The site is currently part of a superfund cleanup effort. A considerable amount of tar and other contaminants are still leaking into the river. Demolished November 2015
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Unknown. The presence of toxic waste may be a reason why this site has not been redeveloped. The site is currently part of a superfund cleanup effort.
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The moderator rating is a neutral rating of the content quality, photography, and coolness of this location.
Category |
Rating |
Photography |
3 / 10 |
Coolness |
6 / 10 |
Content Quality |
7 / 10 |
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This location's validation is current. It was last validated by
Explorer Zero on 11/27/2015 8:09 PM.
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on Nov 27 15 at 20:09, Explorer Zero validated this location on Nov 19 15 at 18:46, Deuterium changed the following: History, Interesting Features, Media Coverage on Nov 19 15 at 18:12, Deuterium changed the following: Status, Interesting Features, Recommendation, Security Measures, Required Equipment, Recommended Equipment, Media Coverage on Nov 1 09 at 2:20, Opheliaism validated this location on Nov 1 09 at 1:06, aaronni changed the following: Media Coverage on Jul 21 08 at 23:51, Emperor Wang validated this location on Jul 19 08 at 21:44, Deuterium updated gallery picture The backside of it on Jul 19 08 at 21:40, Deuterium updated gallery picture Rear access on Jul 19 08 at 21:38, Deuterium updated gallery picture The backside of it on Jul 19 08 at 21:37, Deuterium added some pictures to a gallery
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