This blog hosts information about "American Colossus: The Grain Elevator 1843 to 1943," written by William J. Brown and published by Colossal Books in February 2009. Buy a copy today!
Monday, April 26, 2010
The Superior Elevator in Buffalo, New York
The Superior Elevator in Buffalo, NY, circa 1925. Photographer unknown. Built in three stages by the A.E. Baxter Construction Company and H.R. Wait and/or the James Stewart Construction Company, the Superior used two electrically powered marine towers ("loose legs") and could store up to 3.7 million bushels. Note that these loose legs were restricted to the Superior "A" (built in 1915), and that both the Superior "B" (built in 1923) and the Superior "C" (1925) had to built at an angle to the original structure to accommodate one of the many twists and turns in the course of the Buffalo River.
Montreal, circa 1925
At left, electrically powered mobile marine towers ("loose legs") in Montreal, circa 1925. Photographer unknown.
Buffalo, circa 1900
A picture looking up Main Street, Buffalo, NY, in 1900. Photographer unknown. At the left, the Brown Elevator. At the right, moving from left from right, the Wilkeson, the CJ Wells, and the Sternberg Elevators. All of these grain elevators were designed by Robert Dunbar (the true inventor of the mechanized grain elevator), constructed out of wood and powered by coal-burning steam engines.