By Tim Kovalcik, Shreveport Bossier Journal Columnist
This week’s question when did air conditioning finally become part of Louisiana life?
On November 15th, 1937 the United States Congress finally cooled off, literally. For the first time in its long history, the Capitol building produced cold, not hot, air. In many ways this was typical. The United States Congress was years behind the rest of the industrialized world, which was already adapting to the use of “conditioned air.” Even in the depression nearly all commercial buildings and places of business were designed with central HVAC systems in place. The fact that the federal government decided to make an investment in the novel technology was a simple reminder of a new era.
Historians are still debating the significance of the air conditioner and its effects on society. Some believe it is the greatest invention of the last two hundred years. Evidence supporting this conclusion was the volume of work made available by a new manufacturing environment. A more comfortable atmosphere made production more efficient and tolerable. Likewise, the economy was bolstered socially. People began to linger longer in movie theaters, restaurants and bars. Sports events could be held indoors and once the air-conditioner was installed in vehicles; travel exploded. It was a silent subtle, but impactful change.
On the other hand, the air conditioner was long in the making and only took off after the industrial revolution. Willis Carrier, a Brooklyn engineer, is often credited with the invention of central air. His patent on a “centrifuge” that cooled buildings came in 1922, after a decade of early prototypes. In reality, cooling systems were already in place. High rise buildings were designed in order to capitalize on the movement of air, factories used fans to move cold drafts in specific directions, and many homes used natural thermal systems for both hot and cold. While a machine that produced temperature-controlled air was revolutionary, it was not entirely new.
But what about Louisiana? Naturally, any attempt to fight the horrid humidity of the swamps would be welcome. In the summer of 1906, the publication Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer wrote “the hot summer days now prevailing make one wonder why ventilation with cool currents has not been thoroughly well exploited before these days.” Well, duh! It seemed so simple! But, despite the obvious, the state like the rest of the world had to wait two decades before a new trend in architecture and comfort would take-off.
Part of the reason for such slow development was an infrastructure to support a cooling system. The invention of an air conditioner required electricity. The “current” wars were still alive and well in the early twentieth century and access to cheap affordable energy was not readily available. Furthermore, the concept of using air across cold water was still in its experimentation stage. As it turns out, the most notable shift in Louisiana was during this same period when the State legislature tried cooling its chambers with a series of water pipes. The system worked, but all the water was repurposed as a source of drinking water as well. This lasted for only a while, before it was discovered that the water changing temperatures and traveling across dirty pipes wasn’t sanitary.
However, the real use of air conditioning coincided well with the state’s energy boom. Shreveport, New Orleans and other cities that began building larger buildings started to incorporate air units. Furthermore, by the depression it was city governments that began to reform their existing structures. This fit well with the move to larger public works projects. In short, the 1937 installation of a cooling unit at the United States capital was not news in Louisiana.
It was not until the 1950s and 1960s with the rise of suburban building that air conditioning became common in homes. The post-war economic explosion was partially an expansion built on amenities. Comfort in the home and in all buildings became second nature. While not as prominent as things such as the television, computers, or iphones, air conditioning is just as important. Strangely, it is really only in the last seventy-five years that it has become a staple of existence.
This Week With the History Geek is the work of Dr. Timothy Kovalcik, Head of School at Ascension Classical School in Shreveport, Louisiana. Be sure to like his page “This week with the history geek” on Facebook or follow him on X (Twitter) @drtkovalcik