William Millard set up a solar heating system on the southern roof of his two-story home in the mid 1930s. (The Day & Night Company, then located in Monrovia, installed a number of solar water heaters, which operated efficiently. When natural gas became more plentiful and cheaper, the company abandoned the project.) Millard had tar-coated, flattened copper tubing placed among the roof tiles. A 100-gallon tank was attached to the roof of the attic. Well water was pumped into the tank and gravity was utilized for circulation. Millard reported that he could enjoy daily solar-heated baths except during prolonged rainy periods. After 15 years, it fell into disuse. In 1967, when the home was bulldozed down, the contractor expressed amazement at the strange copper tubing contraption still in place on the roof. He wrote it off as a giant “Prohibition Era Still.”
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Carol Libby and Karen Hou
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Carol Libby & Karen Hou
Arcadia Historical Society