To quickly establish that a film is set in New York City, a Hollywood director could show the Empire State Building or the Brooklyn Bridge. But often, the chosen symbol is far less majestic: an orange-and-white-striped tube spewing steam over a busy street.
The steam funnels are an appendage of the city's extensive network of pipes that distribute steam, at high pressure and about 400 degrees Fahrenheit, to office towers and apartment buildings throughout the densest parts of Manhattan. The utility company Consolidated Edison uses those pipes, most of which are buried beneath the city's streets, to supply steam for heating, cooling and other commercial uses like dry cleaning.
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