Profile in Tacony History
Volume 4

The Life and Influence of Frank Shuman

Our fourth installment profiling a significant person or place in Tacony's history focuses on a man who was likely Tacony's most famous resident. Of course Henry Disston and Sons were the leading saw makers in the world and brought much recognition to Tacony; however, most Disstons did not live in the Tacony area. This is the story of the grandson of a German immigrant who made his contemporary world more efficient and paved the way for modern scientific advances - truly a man ahead of his time.

Frank Shuman was born on January 23, 1862 in Brooklyn, New York. His father was the brother of Francis Shumann, President of Tacony Iron & Metal Company who oversaw the construction of the mammoth statue of William Penn situated atop Philadelphia's City Hall. Frank Shuman, although possessing a strong desire to learn and practice science, left public school after only three years. His desire to accumulate scientific knowledge eventually led to a position as chemist for the Victor G. Bloede Company of West Virginia at the age of eighteen. The Bloede Company. situated in the Parkersburg area of West Virginia, specialized in making aniline dye.

During his twenties, Frank Shuman had performed private experimentation on ways to melt wire into glass. The primary reason for this experimentation was that skylights were a significant part of Victorian Architecture, especially in religious facilities, train terminals, and government buildings. When a sky light would break, anyone standing underneath would be seriously injured or even killed. In many cases, aesthetically unappealing nets would be suspended below skylights to prevent any tragic occurrences. By the age of twenty-eight, Shuman had patented a process for the manufacture of wire glass using a regenerative furnace to melt the glass, annealing ovens and sets of specially designed rollers to roll the glass into sheets. Shuman's invention would not only make the unattractive netting unnecessary, but would be strong enough to resist hail, heavy snow, and the rumbling of trains.

Although Shuman possessed the patent for his wire glass invention, he lacked the capital to begin its manufacture. In 1891, he was summoned to Tacony from West Virginia by his uncle Francis Schumann, President of the Tacony Iron & Metal Company. During the construction of the City Hall Tower, Shuman's uncle sought the advice of his inventive nephew in attempting to provide a maintenance free exterior to this 547 foot stone and iron support structure for the statue of William Penn. It was his work in Tacony which enabled Shuman to establish relationships with the people possessing the resources to make his wire glass project a success.
Frank Shuman

After much experimentation, and the assistance of architect John Orb and plating manager John D. Darling of New York, a process was invented whereby the ironwork could be dipped sequentially into three electrically charged tanks, "plating" the iron with coats of copper, wax, and finally aluminum. The tanks and conductors which were constructed for this process were at the time the largest electroplating facility ever built in America. On October 22, 1892, the national publication, Scientific American, published a report on the new electroplating process, nothing that "for a protective coat, say for copper...it answers very well." This article brought much attention to Tacony from the industrial scientific world and the neighborhood was being recognized as a center for creativity and innovation.

During his tenure at the Tacony Iron & Metal Works, Frank Shuman established friendships with Jacob Disston and W.L. Elkins, Sr. two of the wealthiest power brokers in the City. Both were the first financial supporters of Shuman's wire glass invention and stood to gain great profits from the project. With their financial support, Shuman opened the American Wire Glass Manufacturing Company in Tacony with Elkins serving as President. Within two weeks of its electroplating article, Scientific American focused on Tacony again, this time to report on Frank Shuman's wire glass invention. An article published on November 5, 1892 praised the newly found process and strengthened Tacony's reputation as a place for industrial inventiveness.

The wire glass invention was an instant success, finally providing for durable and safe skylights at a lower long-term cost in both lives and money. Shuman, Disston, and Elkins reaped significant financial gains from the project, enough so that Shuman could leave the employ of the Tacony Iron & Metal Company to begin his livelihood as an independent inventor. He eventually purchased a lot at the southeast corner of Disston and Ditman Streets (now 4600 Disston Street) upon which was built a large brick residence including a private laboratory at the rear (most recently home of Werko Machine Company until 1996).

Over the next quarter century or so, Frank Shuman astounded and delighted the Tacony community and beyond with most of his innovations being perfected at his inventor's compound and residence. In 1903, he invented and patented a process for concrete building foundations making concrete piles with a hollow metal pole in the center which was plunged deep into the earth. This process eliminated the need for performing massive excavation for foundations. In 1908, he assisted the local Erben-Harding Textile Company by inventing a machine which effectively removed oil from wool. This machine was patented jointly by Shuman and Erben-Harding. In 1914, Shuman invented the most durable safety glass to date, experimenting with and improving upon gas masks of his day. After the invention, Shuman became President of the Safetee Glass Company of Philadelphia, making products such as windshields, goggles, lenses, and gas masks. Two John Scott medals from the Franklin Institute were awarded to Shuman for his wire glass and concrete pile inventions.

Of all Shuman's valued contributions to society, none was recognized more so than his experimentation with solar energy. Around 1906, he began investigating the potential for energy produced by the sun. He studied solar energy models proposed previously by three different scientists, each of whose basic concept was to reflect the sun's rays in order to heat water which would produce steam. Shuman's visionary ideals, most of which were not publicly accepted until sixty years later, were evident when he made the statement, "One thing I feel sure of... is that the human race must finally utilize direct sun power or revert to barbarism."

Shuman improved upon his predecessor's designs by reflecting the sun's rays upon one foot square boxes filled with ether, which has a lower boiling point that water, and containing black pipes on the inside. This invention instantly powered a toy steam engine. Shuman posted handbills throughout Tacony inviting the public to a solar energy demonstration at Ditman and Disston Streets anytime between noon and 3:00 p.m. on any afternoon after August 20, 1907. It turned out that the tiny steam engine operated continuously for over two years on sunny days next to a pond at the Shuman compound. It was reported by his contemporaries that Shuman took great delight in fascinating his community and frequently took visitors from around the world on walks through Tacony.

Although it was but a minor improvement over previous solar energy models, Shuman was successful at attracting investors to his project due to his past inventive successes. By 1908, the Sun Power Company was formed with the intent to someday build a power plant which would serve an entire community, or more. This quality of horsepower generation would require many times the quantity of sun collector boxes used for the toy engine. Again, Shuman's inventiveness led his to two major changes which would make a larger scale operation more efficient. He used mirrors to reflect rays upon the collector boxes, increasing heating capacity so much that water could now be used instead of ether. He also developed a low pressure steam turbine since most 1910 vintage steam engines were built for steam and not sun-heated water. Shuman's turbine processed energy four times faster than any engine of his day.

Shuman began to seek international financial support for his power plant concept. By 1910, Shuman had assembled a team of investors from Philadelphia and Great Britain and formed the Sun Power Company-Eastern Hemisphere as well as Shuman Engine Syndication, Ltd., which was incorporated in England. On the site which is now Vogt Playground, Shuman constructed 2/3 or an acre of reflectors around the collector boxes with the ability to be adjusted according to the optimum angle of the sun's rays. Shuman then constructed a full scale steam engine which was powered by low pressure water, enabling him to patent the entire solar engine system by 1912. The international attention brought to Tacony by the constant evolution of science within it was a thrill for residents of the day. Scientific American again featured Shuman and Tacony in its issues of February 4, 1911 and September 30, 1911.

Frank Shuman was undoubtedly influenced and his work enhanced by the wide availability of cultural and scientific resources within the Tacony community. He was an active member of the Keystone Scientific and Literary Association and supported many local organizations. His outgoing nature and visionary character gave many in Tacony a special feeling of pride. It was said that he worked sixteen hour days and walked ten miles a day. It was also said that he predicted the advent of rockets, television, and the atom as an energy source. His greatest obsession,though, was the depletion of fossil fuels as sources of energy. He also sought laws to fine those who littered the streets. Whether these stories handed down are truth or folly, it is undeniable that Shuman was, at the time, having a tremendous impact on Tacony and the world.

Because many of his investors were British businessmen with land holdings in Egypt, it was suggested that a new solar power plant be built in Egypt, where the climate would significantly increase the effectiveness of Shuman's solar engine. In 1912, Shuman oversaw the construction of the world's first solar energy plant in Meadi, Egypt, which at the time was an agricultural village. By July, 1913 the plant was operating at full capacity, producing over 55 horsepower with approximately 6000 gallons of irrigation water pumping through per minute. The effectiveness and production of this facility exceeded his Tacony model by twenty-five percent. In 1914, Scientific American praised Shuman's power plant as being practical and efficient.

Prior to the outbreak of World War I, Shuman had been offered a contract from the German government for another power plant in its African Territory. Had it not been for the Great War, the worldwide environmental benefits, not to mention Shuman's financial gains, would have been tremendous. Unfortunately, the engineers operating the Egyptian plant departed to perform war related tasks in their countries of origin. Plans with the German Reichstag were permanently put on hold and Shuman was fortunate to return to Tacony just before the war broke out in Europe.

Disappointed yet still hopeful, Frank Shuman returned to Tacony in 1914 and gave the community a glimpse of the Egyptian solar plant in the form of a film which was presented at the Liberty Theater, originally situated on the south side of Longshore Avenue between Hegerman and Vandike Streets. It was said that this film was the "talk of the town" for months. Most thrilling to Taconyites at the time was the fact that they had a world renowned inventor living in their midst. The fact that he was a cheerful, down to earth personality who enjoyed the camaraderie of his mostly factory working neighbors only added to his legacy.

In 1917, the last innovation made public to Shuman prior to his death was a land battleship he called a
"Superdreadnought" which would reportedly destroy entire towns and villages in a matter of minutes. Shuman got as far as drawing sketches of a tank like structure with wheels hat were 200 feet in diameter before the idea was rejected by the War Department. Earlier in 1917, the War Department adopted the patent rights to a submarine designed by Shuman which was powered by liquid oxygen.

Although many of Frank Shuman's dreams and visions were never realized, his contributions to modern society are undeniable. His effect upon Tacony through his innovative public work and his kind, lovable personal nature left fond memories for many of Tacony's residents even decades after his death. His down to earth personality and modesty were qualities emulated by his contemporaries, exemplified when Shuman declined an Honorary Masters of Science Degree from Cornell University for his pioneering solar energy work citing that he could not accept such an honor because he never completed any educational degree.

Tacony was a center for technological revolution during the period between 1890 and 1920. It is no irony that this is the same period in which Frank Shuman spent his time in Tacony, breathing more life into an already thriving community. In addition to Shuman's inventions, Taconyites witnessed the construction of William Penn's statue, the construction of the Lardner's Point pumping station and modern advances by Henry Disston & Sons, Tacony Iron Works, Gillinder Glass Company, and the Dodge Steel Company. Scientific and cultural resources were plentiful, thanks to the Tacony New Era newspaper and the Keystone Scientific & Literary Association, later the Tacony Library.

It is for the same type of enlightenment and cultural enrichment that groups such as the Historical Society of Tacony, Tacony Civic Association, and Disston Neighbors Association exist. The Tacony Library, tracing its roots back to 1876 near Unruh Avenue and State Road and now entering the 21st Century in a newly renovated, state of the art facility, and working in conjunction with the aforementioned groups, has contributed invaluably to the culture of the youth and adults in and near Tacony. As long as these resources are utilized and these Associations supported Tacony's future will again be as bright as it was one hundred years ago.