Seaholm Power Plant
Seaholm Power Plant | |
Art Moderne | |
| NRHP reference No. | 13000614[1] |
|---|---|
| RTHL No. | 13974 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | August 20, 2013 |
| Designated RTHL | 2007 |
The Seaholm Power Plant is a historic former
History
Operating power plant
The Seaholm Power Plant was commissioned in 1948 to meet Austin's growing demand for electric power. The engineering firm Burns & McDonnell designed the complex, which was constructed in two phases in 1951 and 1955. The facility originally included a turbine generator building, a water intake structure, and an oil heating building. A guard booth and a storage building were added to the site later. Originally called "Power Plant No. 2," on 2 June 1960 the plant was renamed posthumously for Walter E. Seaholm, a prominent figure in the administration of Austin's municipal utilities.[2]
Seaholm served as Austin's sole source of electric power from 1950 to 1959, until demand outpaced the 120 megawatts the plant could generate with all five boilers running. As other stations were built the city's reliance on Seaholm waned, and in 1989 the plant stopped providing power to the city, though it was used as a training facility until 1996, when it closed entirely.[3]
Redevelopment
The site lay dormant until 2004, when the Austin City Council requested proposals for redevelopment partners. Several firms and consultancies formed an organization called "Seaholm Power, LLC", which was designated in April 2005 to lead redevelopment of the defunct power plant and the surrounding site.[4] A master development agreement was reached with the city in April 2008 specifying the renovations and new construction that would be undertaken.[5]
Work began on the plant's redevelopment in mid-2013.[6] The interior of the turbine generator building was converted to a mixture of office, retail and restaurant space, with tenants occupying the facility beginning in 2015.[7] A residential tower called Seaholm Residences was constructed at the west end of the site, also opening in 2015. As of 2021[update], the city has not selected a final plan for the redevelopment of the water intake facility.[8]
Power generation
Seaholm was a semi-outdoor power plant, with its
Architecture
Turbine generator building
The largest building (which formerly housed the turbine generators) stands three stories high and faces southward, toward the lake. The exterior surface of the building is of structural cast-in-place
Water intake structure
The water intake structure sits on the shore of
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Travis County, Texas
- Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Travis County
References
- ^ "National Register Information System – Seaholm Power Plant (#13000614)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ "Seaholm Power Plant". National Register of Historic Places Program. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ Kaspar, Mary. "Preserving Seaholm's Power". Seaholm Power, LLC. Retrieved Mar 9, 2015.
- ^ DeCiutiis, Hannah Jane (21 April 2013). "Seaholm Power Plant site to be developed into public space for retail, apartments". The Daily Texan. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ "Seaholm Power Plant Redevelopment". City of Austin. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ Novak, Shonda (15 April 2013). "Seaholm redevelopment ready to break ground at last". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- KXAN. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ a b c "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places Program. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
External links
