[UPDATE: Pratt Administration has stated that next year will be the last year (not this year) for the steam whistles, at Conrad’s discretion!]
For the past 50 or so years Chief Engineer Conrad Milster has been setting up steam whistles at Pratt Institute’s campus in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn on New Year’s Eve. It is a tradition that is drawing to a close: It has been reported that this will be the last year for the neighborhood to congregate on the campus and pull the loud whistles that let off copious amounts of steam and sound like a herd of lost inland steamboats.
Consider yourself warned that this is your last chance to experience this unique and free event, and possibly your only chance to ever hear or play an actual steam calliope:
Some past years press coverage of the event:
NPR
Gothamist
WNYC
MAS
Atlas Obscura
Demotix
New York Times
Make
Flickr
A video of Conrad giving a tour of the steam plant:
Also, from all of us at plaNYourCity, have a safe and happy New Year!
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