Built St. Louis
The Industrial City

Gasometers
- Natural Bridge Road, north City
- Pumping Station G: Forest Park Southeast, central City
- Shrewsbury, inner south County

Gasometers (or "gas holder") are common in European cities, but comparatively rare in the United States. These massive tanks rise and fall to maintain pressure in natural gas lines through the city. The gas floats above a base volume of water; as the amount of gas changes, the tank rises and falls. The gasometers were retired in the early 2000s as Laclede Gas switched to underground gas storage. The tanks now sit permanently out of sight, leaving only the skeletal support framework looming above.

These strange landmarks are visible for miles around. Their steel frameworks are fascinating studies of layered geometrical patterns.

Pumping Station G
The Forest Park Southeast gasometer stands at Newstead and Chouteau, a jarring interruption of an otherwise quiet residential neighborhood. It was erected in 1901 and rebuilt in 1942. A sibling tank once stood just west on what is now a vacant lot. The adjacent Pumping Station G building dates from 1911; both were built for the Laclede Gas Light Company. National Historic Register nominations were submitted in 2006.

The FPSE gasometer is slated to be demolished in 2007. The pump house will be converted to residential use. An article in the Post-Dispatch's South City Journal details the nomination and plans for the site.

It is with no small regret that I report the impending demise of this landmark. The gasometer is one of the many structures in St. Louis which first impressed on me that the city was somewhere special and unique. Its lines form an endlessly changing array of patterns, fodder for countless photographs and compositions. There is a strange air of archaicness to the structure, something declaring that it is a mighty beast from an era not our own. I would love to see it reused somehow -- propositions on a discussion board included a skateboard park and a hanging garden; I could also see it as an astonishing space for raves (imaging lighting up some or all of the framework), open-air dining, and/or skating.

The gasometers are a remarkable resource, and a fate so mundane as demolition seems sadly uncreative.

Update: Draining of the tank and prep work for demolition was underway as of March 2007.

Update: Demolition of the entire structure was nearly complete as of July 2007.

Photo notes:
1 - a view circa 1995 of the tank while in operation, in the nearly full position.