ASHRAE Journal - December 2019 - 44

The Golden Age of Cooling

Historic Theaters and
Their Impact on
Air Conditioning Today
BY ROGER CHANG, P.E., MEMBER ASHRAE

The performing arts have been an integral part of the history and culture of society.
Access to performance evolved significantly starting in the late 19th century, inextricably tied to developments in the conditioning of performance spaces. Overheated
theaters had been a concern for centuries, with the cheapest seats often up higher
and exposed to even higher temperatures. A theater presented significant challenges
for comfort and wellness, given they were often windowless, ornate, and most of all,
packed with both performers and audience members. In an era before electric lighting, gas jets were used, often pushing temperatures past 100°F (38°C).¹
First Innovations
Most theaters in New York City had no choice but to
halve performances during the summer. One of the
first noted evolutions occurred at the Madison Square
Theater (Figure 1), newly renovated in 1880, and featuring a 650-seat house. The theater incorporated a
ventilation system for the first time, developed specifically for comfort. The system as envisioned by Steele
MacKaye, an actor/playwright/producer, is described
as costing $10,0001 and consisting of a 50 ft (15 m)
high intake shaft on top of the theater's roof with a
3 ft (0.9 m) wide rotary fan. Outdoor air was drawn
past a bag-shaped cheesecloth filter, washed once a
week, forced through a chamber with racks of ice, then

distributed through a network of smaller "pipes" emerging throughout the auditorium. This system was noted
by Mr. MacKaye as being able to keep butter solid.
This system received a significant amount of coverage
from the press but did not drive market transformation. The labor-intensive system used fans powered by
steam engines, and ice had to be replenished at a rate
of two to four tons per performance. In 1885, two additional Broadway theaters incorporated similar systems
to the MacKaye concept-a low percentage of adoption.
Reliability was a major concern, and The Evening World
even noted that a theater cooling system is "heard a
great deal more than it is felt." Even if a system was
able to reduce air temperature a few degrees below the

Roger Chang, P.E., LEED Fellow, is senior engineering leader with DLR Group in Washington, D.C.
44

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ASHRAE Journal - December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - December 2019

Contents
ASHRAE Journal - December 2019 - Intro
ASHRAE Journal - December 2019 - CT1
ASHRAE Journal - December 2019 - CT2
ASHRAE Journal - December 2019 - Cover1
ASHRAE Journal - December 2019 - Cover2
ASHRAE Journal - December 2019 - 1
ASHRAE Journal - December 2019 - Contents
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ASHRAE Journal - December 2019 - Cover3
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