Main entry:

Rose, Mark H., 1942-

Title & Author:

Cities of light and heat : domesticating gas and electricity in urban America / Mark H. Rose.

Publication:

University Park, Pa. : Pennsylvania State University Press, ©1995.

Description:

xviii, 229 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 203-209) and index.
The urbanization of technology and public policy, 1860-1900 -- The blunt discipline of public policy, 1900-1920 -- Agents of diffusion: salespersons and home service representatives, 1900-1920 -- Preparation of producers and consumers: public schools, 1900-1930 -- Two salespersons and ecologies of technological knowledge, 1920-1940 -- Adapting to the city again, 1920-1940 -- Baptismal tanks and the feminized search for environmental perfection, 1945-1985 -- The scholarship of technology and society, 1915-1990s.
Illustrations: Henry L. Doherty -- Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, mid-1890s -- Denver residence, before 1900 -- Denver Gas & Electric Company employees, 1908 -- Denver, 1911 -- "Cook with gas" vehicle, c. 1910 -- Denver Gas New Business Department, 1929 -- "The story of the invisible furnaceman" 1923 -- Space heater sales promotion, 1931 -- J.C. Nichols -- Home built by J.C. Nichols, 1920s -- Kitchen for "Little Magic House" 1939 -- Wolferman's Grocery Store, 1939 -- Kitchen sales promotion, 1940 -- Maytag advertisement, c. 1946 -- Public Service Company of Colorado News item, 1950 -- Maytag advertisement, 1951 -- Kitchen of the 1980s.

Summary:

Cities of Light and Heat takes us to Kansas City and Denver during the late nineteenth century when gas and electricity were introduced to these "instant cities" of the West. With rich detail, Mark Rose shows how the new technology spread during the next century from a few streets and businesses within the city limits to countless private homes in the suburbs. Although in hindsight the spread of modern technology might seem inevitable to us, Rose shows how even the leaders of the nation's great gas and electric corporations with their vast production and distribution facilities were subject to geography, competing ideologies, urban politics, and even the choices of ordinary consumers. Rose thus locates the driving force behind the diffusion of technology in the neighborhoods, kitchens, and offices of the city. Cities of Light and Heat shows the importance of culture, politics, and urban growth in shaping technological change in the cities of North America.

Resources:
Table of contents
Book review (H-Net)
Book review (H-Net)
Contributor biographical information
Publisher description

ISBN:

0271013494
9780271013497

Subject:

Municipal services Colorado Denver History.
Municipal services Missouri Kansas City History.
Public utilities Colorado Denver History.
Public utilities Missouri Kansas City History.
Electric utilities Colorado Denver History.
Electric utilities Missouri Kansas City History.
Gas industry Colorado Denver History.
Gas industry Missouri Kansas City History.
Electric cooperatives Colorado Denver History.
Electric cooperatives Missouri Kansas City History.
Services municipaux Colorado Denver Histoire.
Services municipaux Missouri Kansas City Histoire.
Services publics Colorado Denver Histoire.
Services publics Missouri Kansas City Histoire.
Coopératives d'électricité Colorado Denver Histoire.
Coopératives d'électricité Missouri Kansas City Histoire.
Gaz Industrie Colorado Denver Histoire.
Gaz Industrie Missouri Kansas City Histoire.
Services publics d'électricité Colorado Denver Histoire.
Services publics d'électricité Missouri Kansas City Histoire.
Electric cooperatives
Electric utilities
Gas industry
Municipal services
Public utilities
Elektrizitätsversorgung
Gasversorgung
Geschichte
Colorado Denver
Missouri Kansas City
Denver, Colo.
Kansas City, Mo.
Electric utilities History Colorado Denver
Electric utilities History Missouri Kansas City
Gas industry History Colorado Denver
Gas industry History Missouri Kansas City
Municipal services History Colorado Denver
Municipal services History Missouri Kansas City
Public utilities History Colorado Denver
Public utilities History Missouri Kansas City

Form/genre:

History

Holdings:

Location: Library main 83978
Call No.: ID HD4606.D33 R6; ID:95-B3382
Status: Available