The Donny U Brothers and the Donny Hues

At the time there were no gas works on the West Coast. Only Merchant Street had lighting, which was done by oil lamps by hand. Peter New gas was the next big thing and he talked his brothers into getting into the gas business. And they went all in, even though they knew nothing about it. They got a franchise from the city of San Francisco in 1852. Two years later, on February 11, 1854, city streets were lit by gas for the first time.