Exterior view of Boston Gas Works and Interior view of Boston Gas Works

Description

"On this page we present our readers with two fine views of the works of the Boston Gaslight Company, at the North End, drawn for us by that favorite artist, Mr. Warren. One of these represents the exterior of the establishment, with its entrance, its towering chimneys, and other structures; and the other, the interior, with a view of the great gasometer. There are two capacious gasometers here, and there are also two in other parts of the city--one at the South End, on Washington Street, and one on Commercial Street. [...] All who remember the benighted condition of our streets before the introduction of gas, are in a condition to appreciate fully the blessings of this product of modern science, and of the combination of capital and enterprise. A Boston theatre, a Boston ball-room, and a Boston store, by night are totally different from what they were in the days of oil lamps and streaming tallow candles, or even spermaceti and wax, which could only be commanded by the wealthy. Gas is now not only the most brilliant, but the most economical light that can be obtained. The first notions respecting the employment of gas for the purposes of domestic illumination were thrown out by a German, Lampadius, in 1801."