st department store was air conditioned in 1924. There were other commercial air conditioning installations by Carrier during this period, and other engineers developed and installed their own versions of air conditioning. None of the systems of the other engineers, however, matched the technological sophistication of those developed by Carrier.
Two developments made it possible for Willis Carrier to perfect an air conditioner that was both practical and efficient. The first of these developments was the technology of refrigeration. A Scot transplanted to the American South invented the ammonia compressor in 1872. This compressor was used to produce ice for the King Ranch in Texas. By the early 1880s, "mechanical refrigeration devices were being used by breweries, restaurants, and meat packing plants." By the turn of the century, refrigerating plants were being used in conjunction with cooling coils to chill air in large commercial facilities. The refrigeration plant concept, however, was not feasible for use in relatively small structures that
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