Celebrating National Historic Preservation Month
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May is National Historic Preservation Month.
To celebrate, the Preservation Alliance asked 31 historic preservation leaders in Philadelphia to name a building that has inspired them and why. We invite you to watch this space daily and hear from leaders in the local preservation movement as they reveal the historic buildings that have inspired them.
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Bob Powers
The Delaware Station of the
Philadelphia Electric Company
1325 Beach Street, Philadelphia
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When the Alliance asked me to select a building in the Philadelphia region that is inspirational, my immediate reaction was “which one to choose?” I have been extremely fortunate to work on many of the truly iconic and monumental buildings in Philadelphia, from the PSFS Building to 30th Street Main Post Office to the Urban HQ complex in the Navy Yard to numerous impressive former textile mills in Kensington. They have all been inspirational in their own distinctive ways. So how to choose?
After some further thought, the one structure that truly stands out to me in many ways is The Delaware Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company, located at 1325 Beach Street, just north of Penn Treaty Park on the Delaware River. This magnificent hulk of an industrial complex is a testament to the expansion, growth, and prominence of the Philadelphia Electric Company in the early decades of the 20th century. The property consists of the main power station with four additional structures including the Ash Tank Building, the Screen House, Coal Tower, Pump Room Building, and Pier 61, all within a 5.5-acre site. The main power station building, constructed of reinforced concrete, is composed of three distinct sections: The Switch House facing Beach Street, Turbine Hall to the east of the Switch House, and the Boiler House facing the river.
Designed by John T. Windrim and built between 1917 and 1923, the station at the time of its completion was the largest power station in the Philadelphia Electric system and could generate nearly 50% of the city’s electricity. Originally fired by coal, an impressive series of hoists, conveyors, and bunkers moved the coal from barges plying the Delaware River and distributed the coal into the Boiler House to feed the massive boilers. Burning the coal generated steam that would be piped under pressure to the turbines in Turbine Hall. The turbines would spin the nearby generators to create electricity which would be sent to the Switch House for distribution throughout the city. The ingenuity and efficiency of the system created by Windrim and engineers William Eglin and Frank Kneas at that time was a testimony to their innovative and bold visions of industrial capabilities.
The functional and architectural centerpiece of the Delaware Station is the intact, monumental Turbine Hall. Measuring 88’ wide x 367’ long, the main floor is broken up by seven large openings each surrounded by metal railings. Six gabled skylights providing ample daylight to the interior rise some 80’ above the floor. Not only is this space’s vast scale awe-inspiring, but the decision by Windrim to impose a Classical design to this functional industrial interior adds to the uniqueness and quality of experiencing Turbine Hall.
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Finally, this classical monument on the Delaware River is also inspirational as a survivor of the once prominent river and other related industries that historically dominated the Delaware waterfront in this area. Prominent companies such as the Neafie and Levy Shipyard and the William Cramp & Sons Shipyard as well as the American Ice Company and Pennsylvania Sugar Company no longer survive, leaving the Delaware Station as an industrial remnant/survivor on the river. Its continued dominance on the riverfront is a reassuring presence and inspiration to me.
Two excellent sources of additional information on The Delaware Station can be found in Kevin McMahon’s National Register nomination at
https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/16000427.htm
and Aaron Wunsch’s book
Palazzos of Power: Central Stations of the Philadelphia Electric Company, 1900-1930.
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Bob Powers
President, Powers & Company, Inc
and Board Member, Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia
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NEW VIRTUAL LECTURES
Watch from the safety and
comfort of your own home!
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Tuesday, May 12, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Boathouse Row: Untold Stories of a Philadelphia Icon
Presented by Dotty Brown
Digging into 150 years of archives for her book,
Boathouse Row, Waves of Change in the Birthplace of American Rowing
, Dotty Brown, a former editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, discovered quirky and fascinating stories behind the façade of these 19
th
century houses. She will reveal some of them, including: how one of Philadelphia’s best known architects came to build on Boathouse Row; its ties with two of the city’s 19
th
century firehouses; why Thomas Eakins’ early work focused on rowers; and the battle women fought for a house of their own in the all-male venue. Dotty blogs about the Row and its history on her website:
www.BoathouseRowTheBook.com
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Tuesday, May 19, 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Art Deco in Philadelphia
Presented by Dr. David Brownlee
,
Frances Shapiro-Weitzenhoffer Professor of 19th Century European Art,
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia contributed an exhilarating chapter to the history of "Art Deco," the colorful, invented modern style that offered an exciting alternative to the austere functionalism in the 1920s and 30s. The quintessential style of the Jazz Age, Art Deco brought brilliant color to the decoration of the Art Museum, introduced exotic motifs (including Mayan and Spanish Colonial) to the city's new skyscrapers, and contributed zig-zagging ornament to our radio stations and "automat" restaurants. It was also one of the components of the brilliant stylistic synthesis created by George Howe and William Lescaze in the era's greatest landmark, the PSFS Building.
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