Situated in the north end of Alsancak - Darağaç district of Izmir, the former ‘Ottoman Gas Company Ltd.’ gas works built by the British, dating from the 1860s, has recently been restored by the city municipality and opened with
ceremony in 2008. According to the book ‘
Smyrne et l’Occident: L’histoire intégrale d’une ville Levantine [
Smyrna and the West: An intergral history of a Levantine city]- Léon Kontenté - Yvelinedition, 2005, France’, the concession for this factory was obtained in 1862, the capital for this enterprise was a massive £100,000, the machinary was provided by the ‘Laidloux and Sons Company’ of Glasgow, Scotland, the first street light tests were conducted in 1864, producing the first street lighting in the Ottoman Empire, but also selling gas for domestic and industrial use, the industry ending with the arrival of electricity. Further information from Çınar Atay’s book ‘Izmir’: The gas was used by 1,670 street lights and 1,300 homes for heating, the coal for this being imported by boat from Britain (Cardiff, Newport, Newcastle). The
advert for this concern in the Indicateur Commercial 1898-99 names the director and other officials, all prominent Levantines of the city, names include, Gandon, Roboly, Hadkinson, Mattheysz.
In accordance with the gas factory restoration plan, all the decrepit buildings on the site were torn down, except for officially registered ones with historical documentation. The registered buildings have become the new youth center; the foundry of the gas factory has evolved into the new cafeteria while the storage rooms will become exhibition halls and art workshops. In addition, the other registered buildings will be restored as the newsroom, sales and administrative units. The two-storey reinforced concrete building at the back of the main area will also be redesigned and the interior cleanup of the huge smokestack has also been completed.
