Origins
The Name
The name Pumping Station: One has many inspirations and was chosen to represent what the founders hoped our organization would become. There are two primary influences which the name derives from. "Pumping Station" is an homage to the City of Chicago which we are based in. Nationwide, our city is known for the Great Chicago Fire, of which the aftermath lead to a rapid transformation into prosperity. Some of the few buildings to survive that disaster were the Water Tower and the lesser known Pumping Station on Michigan Avenue. The latter--no longer in service for fire prevention--has since been re-purposed to host live theater.
The One appended to our name is a play on New York's public school system which traditionally classifies it's institutions as "P.S. #" which stands for "Public School" and an assigned number. This serves a dual role in establishing us as the first institution of our kind, and in emphasizing our commitment to continuing education.
What we hope our name communicates is a new type of learning opportunity where interested parties make their own curriculum.
The Harbinger Logo
Our logo is an abstract work that incorporates our core values as a group. This current version whose working title started out as "PS1 Bubbles" alludes Pumping Station's namesake as a water pumping station. Also, two of Pumping Station: One's initial concentrations of interest were electricity and information, both of which are often described in hydraulic terms. It was thought that the 8 distinct points and tapering negative circles signify network topology in parallel computing as well as giving a nod to hypercube enthusiasts.
Logo design by N.L. Witt.