Forgotten Genius | STM Daily News

When audiences enter New York’s Radio City Music Hall, they notice the stage, the lights, and the sweeping auditorium. The engineering that keeps the building comfortable rarely receives applause.

One of the people behind that comfort was David Nelson Crosthwait Jr., a Black engineer and inventor whose work helped advance heating, ventilation, and temperature control in large buildings.

His career offers a reminder that some of the most useful inventions work quietly around us.

Solving the Problem of Heating Large Buildings

Heating a large building takes more than producing enough heat. Different areas can have different needs: one side may face bitter wind while another receives warming sunlight. Delivering the right amount of heat throughout the building requires careful control.

Crosthwait devoted much of his career to those challenges. A Purdue University engineering graduate, he worked for the C.A. Dunham Company, developing equipment and systems for heating and ventilation.

His inventions included improvements to boilers, thermostat controls, and vacuum pumps. These components helped engineers manage the movement and regulation of heat in larger buildings.

One example appears in U.S. Patent No. 1,727,965, granted in 1929. The patent describes a vacuum steam-heating system designed to serve different sections of a building at different steam pressures. That allowed the system to address varying heating needs while using a shared steam source.

Behind the technical drawing was a practical question: How could one building provide comfortable conditions in spaces that needed different amounts of heat?

His Connection to Radio City Music Hall

Crosthwait’s best-known projects included designing the steam-heating system for Radio City Music Hall at Rockefeller Center.

It was a fitting assignment for an engineer whose expertise centered on the demands of large buildings. While performers entertained audiences, the systems behind the scenes helped make the experience comfortable.

His contributions extended across a substantial body of work. The National Inventors Hall of Fame credits him with 39 U.S. patents and 80 international patents, spanning heating, refrigeration, controls, and other technologies.

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Sharing Knowledge and Breaking Barriers

Crosthwait also helped other engineers learn. He wrote technical material, contributed to engineering guides, and later taught steam-heating theory and control systems at Purdue.

In 1971, he became the first Black Fellow of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. Purdue awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1975, and the National Inventors Hall of Fame inducted him in 2014.

His legacy rests in the practical details of engineering: controlling pressure, improving equipment, and making complicated systems work together.

The next time you settle into a comfortable auditorium on a cold evening, consider the ingenuity behind that warmth. David Crosthwait helped make indoor comfort an engineering achievement worth remembering.

Discover more inventors and innovators through the Forgotten Genius series in The Knowledge at STM Daily News.

Related Links

• National Inventors Hall of Fame: David Crosthwait — Biography covering his inventions, patent totals, Radio City Music Hall work, teaching, and professional honors.
• Rockefeller Center: A Rock Center Innovator — Highlights his role in designing Radio City Music Hall’s steam-heating system.
• Original 1929 Patent: U.S. Patent No. 1,727,965 — Technical drawings and Crosthwait’s description of a steam-heating system serving different building sections at different pressures.
• Purdue University Libraries: Historical Timeline — Documents his 1913 graduation and contributions to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

Sources: National Inventors Hall of Fame, Rockefeller Center, Purdue University Libraries, and U.S. Patent No. 1,727,965.

The House That Hosts: When Your Home Becomes Your Holiday Entertaining Partner

(Feature Impact) There’s a special pleasure in opening your home for the holidays to share the menu you’ve imagined, welcome guests to the glow of a room ready for company and enjoy the anticipation of familiar faces at the door. Every detail is an opportunity to make the loved ones you’ve invited feel especially welcome.

This year, make sure the house itself can lend a hand.

From the kitchen to the living room to the guest bathroom, residential technology offers new ways to turn a host’s imagination into a memorable experience. The best innovations don’t take over the occasion. They help the person bringing everyone together make it extraordinary.

Nor does a home need an elaborate network of connected gadgets. A few well-chosen technologies can make a difference. Explore these ideas from the bathroom design and technology experts at TOTO to level up the different hosting areas of your home as you prepare to gather with family and friends this holiday season.

The Kitchen: Bringing Something Extraordinary to the Table

The holidays invite a little culinary ambition, and today’s kitchens are borrowing a few tricks from professional chefs.

Imagine presenting a beef tenderloin cooked to a perfect rosy pink from edge to edge, thanks to the precision of sous vide cooking. Or bringing a platter of roasted root vegetables to the table, their edges beautifully caramelized and their centers tender, prepared in a steam-convection oven. On an induction cooktop, precise, responsive heat helps turn fresh mushrooms into a golden, savory accompaniment.

These technologies put sophisticated techniques within reach of adventurous home cooks, opening the door to new preparations and dishes worthy of special occasions. Experiment with new flavors and rich cuisines that fill your home with enticing aromas and your guests with awe at the first bite.

Nothing says “happy holidays” quite like watching guests discover what you’ve created for them.

The Living Area: Setting the Stage for Connection

Holiday gatherings have a rhythm all their own. The first arrivals are greeted with excitement, conversations pick up where they left off months (or years) prior, and before long, the room is filled with laughter and the pleasure of being together.

Today’s smart lighting systems allow hosts to create and schedule scenes that shift from the sparkle of a festive welcome to the softer, golden glow of an intimate evening. Multiroom wireless audio systems can bring lively music into the kitchen while keeping it a gentle accompaniment to conversation in the living area. Digital art displays can turn a television screen into a gallery of artwork chosen to complement the celebration, bringing holidays past to life as loved ones mingle in the present.

Successful holiday entertainment engages people not merely as observers, but participants. A short film could start an inspiring conversation, the right music might get people dancing and atmospheric visual-audio experiences, like a crackling fireplace or soft snowstorm, can create a relaxing seasonal backdrop for shared activities.

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With the atmosphere changing quietly in the background, no one needs to interrupt a favorite story to adjust the lights or lower the music. The host can simply enjoy the company they’ve brought together.

The Bathroom: The Art of Personal Comfort

The most gracious hosts think beyond the rooms where guests gather. Fresh towels, fragrant soaps and a few unexpected comforts can make the guest bathroom feel every bit as welcoming as the rest of the home.

Technology adds a new dimension to that hospitality. Consider a TOTO WASHLET bidet seat, which offers the welcome warmth of a heated seat, the refreshing pleasure of warm-water cleansing and the soothing comfort of warm-air drying. It’s an unexpected luxury that makes an everyday experience feel special.

Hosts can choose an option that complements their home’s character. The S2 offers inviting simplicity with convenient side-panel controls. The sleek S5 pairs contemporary elegance with a wireless remote. Meanwhile, the S7A adds a touch of theater with a lid that opens automatically, a softly glowing nightlight and personalized cleansing settings.

Even the housekeeping benefits from a little ingenuity through automatic PREMIST and EWATER+: One mists the toilet bowl before use to help keep it cleaner, while the other cleans the cleansing wand and, on select models, the bowl itself with electrolyzed water.

It’s another way a thoughtful host can anticipate guests’ needs and make them feel wonderfully welcome.

Long after the last guest has departed, what lingers isn’t the sophistication of the house. It’s the meal that inspired compliments, the conversations no one wanted to end and the little surprises that made everyone feel at home.

Those are the moments that make holiday entertaining special. Behind each one is a host whose warmth, creativity and attention to detail made it possible, with a little help from the house. Explore more sophisticated bathroom upgrade ideas for the holidays and beyond at TOTOUSA.com.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock (holiday table)

SOURCE:
TOTO

LOS ANGELES — LA Metro’s October 2026 ridership figures show that the agency’s rail network continued to gain passengers even as bus use declined slightly.

Metro recorded 28,094,014 total boardings during October, approximately 1.4% more than in October 2025. The modest systemwide increase masks a widening difference between the agency’s two principal modes.

Rail lines carried 6,965,472 passengers, an increase of about 10.1% year over year. Average weekday rail ridership rose even faster, climbing 13.4% from 216,796 boardings in October 2025 to 245,864 in October 2026. Average Saturday rail use increased 0.5%, while Sunday ridership rose 4.8%.

Bus ridership moved in the opposite direction. Metro buses recorded 21,128,542 boardings, approximately 1.1% fewer than a year earlier. Because buses still account for roughly three-quarters of Metro trips, that decline limited overall system growth despite the strong rail performance.

The October results extend a rail rebound reported in September, when Metro recorded 6.70 million rail trips and a 12.4% year-over-year increase. Metro attributed much of September’s growth to expanded rail access, including the first section of the D Line extension, which opened three stations at Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Cienega in May.

October averaged 1,008,485 systemwide weekday boardings, 3.2% above the October 2025 average. Saturday ridership declined slightly, while Sunday ridership was nearly unchanged.

The numbers suggest that Metro’s recent rail investments are attracting riders, but they also raise a question for the region’s transit recovery: why is bus ridership no longer growing at the same pace? Bus speed, service reliability and changing travel patterns will be important measures to watch as Metro builds new bus-priority projects and prepares for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Metro’s figures are estimates published through its interactive ridership dashboard.

Sources

● LA Metro Interactive Ridership Dashboard

● Metro’s September 2026 ridership report

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