Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Andrew Ruppenstein
Taken: March 24, 2013
Caption: GreenBrae Brick Kiln
Additional Description: This partial view of the kiln shows 7 of the 14 arched openings to the kiln. The Wikipedia entry (retrieved 3/29/2013) for Hoffman Kiln provides an explanation for the workings of the kiln, as well as the shape of the building itself: A Hoffmann kiln consists of a main fire passage surrounded on each side by several small rooms. Each room contains a pallet of bricks. In the main fire passage there is a fire wagon, that holds a fire that burns continuously. Each room is fired for a specific time, until the bricks are vitrified properly, and thereafter the fire wagon is rolled to the next room to be fired. Each room is connected to the next room by a passageway carrying hot gases from the fire. In this way, the hottest gases are directed into the room that is currently being fired. Then the gases pass into the adjacent room that is scheduled to be fired next. There the gases preheat the brick. As the gases pass through the kiln circuit, they gradually cool as they transfer heat to the brick as it is preheated and dried.... In addition to the inner opening to the fire passage, each room also has an outside door, through which recently-fired brick is removed, and replaced with wet brick to be dried and then fired in the next firing cycle.
Submitted: March 30, 2013, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
Database Locator Identification Number: p237177
File Size: 3.498 Megabytes

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