Modern boiler system restores turn of the century apartments
Built in 1901, the seven-story Mendota is Washington’s oldest intact luxury apartment building. One historic feature of the building is the original heating system, which consisted of a coal-fired boiler that’s still in place but has long been disconnected. The Mendota is heated by a one-pipe steam system connected to column-style cast iron radiators.
Over the years, the coal boiler was abandoned and a gas steam boiler was installed. But that system, after many years in operation, had become less reliable.