LA has a secret. It is, and always has been, a functioning oil field. Walking down this street, you don't see what's behind that building.
pretty incredible. Some are more obvious.
Others are not.
This thing here is a methane vent.
There's an exhibition at the Center for Land Use Interpretation here.
There is something really wonderful about infrastructure cleverly blended into an urban environment so well that nobody even knows about it. All urban explorers have had those moments where they find out something shocking about a familiar space. In LA, you may learn that there is an oil rig connected to the mall you work in. In St. Louis, you may learn that that funny thing on top of the continental building was originally intended as a dirigable docking mast.
Supposedly this isn't true. The Empire State Building tried that, and it didn't really work. The Continental Building's tower is for radio. Terribly sad. It is a myth about dirigibles is a myth worth spreading.
Still, St. Louis has some impressive water structures.
Water intake on the Mississippi,
Obviously these little towers do not need to be so decorative, but aren't we glad they are?
Then there are those three water pipes that everyone knows so well.
There's still stuff going on under our feet. MSD's work behind the scenes is very important and very interesting.
A bit of background on St. Louis sewers,
This is a PSA that every citizen should watch.
The three water towers are (or rather, were) standpipes, used to regulate pressure in the City potable water delivery system. So Uncle Fred didn't get blown off of the toilet after Thanksgiving dinner, or Little Sis didn't get sprayed when she went to get a glass of water to drink. Re: MSD. I wish more people knew of the impacts on our environment their activities had on a day-to-day basis. I change my oil myself, have been doing it for years, and have never once considered throwing it down the drain.
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