W3A. Silent Monoliths: A Photographic Typology of Railroad Coaling Towers
Art, Music & Theater | Registration opens 1/1/2026 9:00 AM
In 1906, America commenced a major railroad modernization project, driven by massive industrial era investment and development. A lasting symbol of this time in history remains today: the imposing coaling towers that pepper the country and that once held the coal that powered steam locomotives. Over the course of five years and 20,000 miles, photographer Jeff Brouws documented these towers. This lecture will examine their place in railroad history and as a photographic typology within Brouws’ larger body of work, as well as the history of photography. His book Silent Monoliths: The Coaling Tower Project will be available from the MIT Press in February 2026.
- Photo courtesy of the Presenters
Jeff Brouws
Presenter
Jeff Brouws is a photographer, writer, and graphic designer. His work can be found in major museum collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Getty Museum, the Fogg Museum, and the Princeton University Art Museum.
Marcella Hackbardt
Presenter
Marcella Hackbardt is a writer, visual artist, curator, and professor of photography at Kenyon College. She has exhibited and lectured on contemporary photography and photo history nationally and internationally.
John Hankey
Presenter
John P. Hankey served the B&O Railroad in various capacities, including locomotive engineer, company historian, and curator of the B&O Railroad Museum. He is a scholar in the field of railroad and industrial history, with over 100 articles to his credit. In 2020, he received the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award.