Page 42 - Demo

40BY THE EARLY 1890s, storing the bounty of American farms was proving to be a real problem. The land, for the most part, had been cleared and settled, and harvested grain crops were being routinely sold to local elevators. From there, the grain was shipped, in bulk, to terminal elevators in larger cities, by quick and efficient rail service. Two cities in particular, Buffalo, NY and Minneapolis, MN, handled more grain than all the others. So much so, that they became known as the %u201cgranaries of the world.%u201d As these vast quantities of corn, wheat, and rye arrived, it soon became apparent that no currently available method of large-scale storage was both practical and affordable.Wood, of course, had been tried%u2014it had been used for some time in the construction of small country elevators. Lumber was plentiful, cheap, easy-to-use, and it had good insulating properties. On the downside, it was subject to rot and fire, and did not lend itself to building the massive containers that were increasingly necessary. Steel storage bins were put up, riveted or bolted together. While impervious to rot and fire, and easy to assemble, the naturally conductive metal led to dramatic internal temperature shifts that often ruined the grain. (This was remedied, decades later, by the addition of ventilating fans and heaters.) Other options included clay tile and brick but, although functional, elevators of these materials were difficult to construct and too expensive. Then, in 1899, Frank Peavey built a structure out of something unique and unexpected%u2014concrete. Along with architect Charles Haglin, Peavey began the construction of a single concrete tower adjacent to the rail line that served his Minneapolis company. Erected in phases, the team used circular wooden forms supported and braced by steel hoops. As the forms were filled with concrete, they were moved upwards and filled with more concrete. The process kept going until the desired height was ultimately reached. This simple technique, which became known as slip forming, allowed a few workers to create a strong, tall, smooth, uniform tube in a short amount of time. The people who watched this novel process%u2014the first slip-formed structure ever created%u2014were not impressed. Having little faith in the unproven technology, they dubbed the rising monolith Peavey%u2019s Folly. In the prevailing view, it was unlikely to ever be completed, but if it could be built, the concrete would fail when filled with grain, or the grain within would spoil. Of course, Peavey understood he was building an experimental structure, yet he had a deep conviction that his unique creation would be up to the job. When the tower was finally topped out at 68 feet, Peavey filled it with grain and declared he would not empty the contents for one full year. Twelve months later, the grain was removed and found to be Peavey%u2019s follySeymour, Jackson Co. (604.19)