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“As it should. When you build something that well, it should last a long time. And it should also be somewhat intimidating.”
If you knock around old buildings, you’ve probably seen a few Broomells. They never go away. George Muse, Dead Man, formerly of Atlanta, Georgia, wrote to the company long before you were born and said, “With sleet, snow and rain as we have had these past few days, it is a luxury to have a perfectly uniform temperature of 70 degrees, or more if we wish. The apparatus is so simple, is it foolproof!” John Ruddle, Dead Man, formerly of The Leghigh Coal and Navigation Company, Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, chimed in. “Comparing the coal consumption of a year ago with this winter, we consumed with the old steam plant from December 1, 1902 to January 11, 1903, an average of 1,950 pounds of pea coal per day. During the same period this winter, we used an average of only 1,030, or about one-half as much in a winter that has been far more severe.” Not too shabby, eh?
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I was in a beautiful old home not long ago when I came across yet another Broomell system. You ever see one of these beauties? The Dead Men installed them at the turn of the century when folks used to build things as good as they could. Broomell was the brainchild of The Vapor Heating Company, which, in its heyday, was headquartered in The North American Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These people conjured a system that had hardly any moving parts, operated with astonishing economy, and lasted more than a hundred years. Imagine that.
Here’s a yellowed letter from the architectural firm of Murphy, Hindle & Wright, formerly of Providence, Rhode Island, but now residing on the other side of the grass. “We are about to have the Broomell system installed in several buildings: the Church, School, Convent and Rectory of The Holy Trinity, Central Falls, Rhode Island, Saint Patrick’s R.C. Church, Providence, Rhode Island, Saint Michael’s R.C. Church, Providence, Rhode Island, Academy and Convent of the Holy Union of the Sacred Hearts, Fall River, Massachusetts, and Santo Christo R.C. Church, Fall River, Massachusetts. It is the most satisfactory low-pressure heating system we have found.”| Dan Holohan - [Intro] | [Email] | [Website] |
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