Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Photos: Awesome Pratt Steam Whistles Greet 2013
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 1, 2013
Modified Jan 1, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Gothamist
View all 9
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 1, 2013
Modified Jan 1, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Times Square may be where a million people choose to ring in the new year, but Fort Greene, Brooklyn is home to the steamiest way to welcome 2013. Pratt Institute allows the public to blow its historic steam whistles.
Scott Lynch, who was there last night/this morning, highly recommends it, "They're the loudest things you've ever heard, you feel the sound not just in your chest but all throughout you body, plus if you're close up there's so much steam you literally can't see anything at all, but you know you're surrounded by people, so you can't move. So giddily disorienting, like sensory deprivation, but due to overload." And Mark Roberts, who also experienced it, notes, "The engine room dates to 1887, and three of the steam-powered electrical generators date to 1900."
Pratt boasts the oldest continuously-operating, privately-owned, steam-powered electrical generating plant in the country. In the East Building you can see the steam turbines along with a collection of other Brooklyn memorabilia and talk with Conrad Milster, Chief Engineer and steam aficionado.You can learn not only about steam-generated electricity but also about all sorts of steam-powered vehicles from mini-trains to giant ocean liners. If you're around on New Year's Eve or Pratt Graduation, you can hear the great whistle blasts from Conrad's collection of steam whistles. Pulling the lever on the whistle from the U.S.S. Normandy and being enveloped in steam is an experience not to be missed. You can try out railroad locomotive whistles, lake and riverboat whistles in addition to the blasts from major ocean liners.
Here are some old videos of the steam whistles in action:
Tagged
new years
pratt institute
steam whistles
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Owl pellets and period equity: What's happening at NYC's public libraries this November
Also: Books!
By
Alec Hamilton
Published Oct 29, 2026 at 4:00 a.m. ET
How the Village Halloween Parade keeps its soul
A visit to the community-driven pre-parade puppet preparations.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
How the Village Halloween Parade keeps its soul
A visit to the community-driven pre-parade puppet preparations.
By
Hannah Frishberg
'You Can See Everything' … as long as you go to Staten Island
By
Sonia Rao
Inside the hidden chamber that controls Lincoln Center's magnificent fountain
By
Sonia Rao
In the algorithm age, NYC college radio DJs are still broadcasting the funky stuff
By
James Ramsay
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .