Pacific Terminal fuel oil handling plant. Interior, showing oil pumps
June 1915
A gelatin silver photograph that records the interior of the Pacific Terminal’s 1915 fuel‑oil handling plant, made to document and display the large pumps and piping that moved oil through the facility.
You’re struck by rows of heavy, riveted pump housings and an arcing network of pipes—their polished metal catching stark light so the machinery reads like a repeating, industrial architecture rather than mere tools.
Images like this helped make industrial systems visible and comprehensible, serving as technical documentation and as a visual language that framed oil infrastructure as a symbol of modern technological power and progress.
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
6 9/16 × 9 1/2" (16.7 × 24.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Purchase
Accession
570.1971.169
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
