Quote Originally Posted by Ray1936 View Post
48091, beautiful response to the question. Thanks a bunch; educational.
Thanks! Just a year ago I was asking myself a similar question when my job was relocated from the suburbs to downtown Detroit. I kept wondering, "Why the hell does steam come out of Detroit sewers, but not sewers in Warren?"

As I slowly learned more it all started making more sense. I also got to learn fun things along the way. For example, the structures in the link below are a sight on my daily commute to and from work. Each day on Madison Avenue I saw these buildings and wondered what they were.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Detroi...9.48,,0,-12.03

The closest structure is a Detroit Thermal plant where steam is produced. The structure next to it is a DTE substation where electricity is switched from transmission voltage to lower voltages for local distribution.