Seaholm Power Plant

Seaholm Power Plant
Seaholm Power Plant
Location Austin, Texas
Coordinates 30°15′59″N 97°45′9″W / 30.26639°N 97.75250°W / 30.26639; -97.75250Coordinates: 30°15′59″N 97°45′9″W / 30.26639°N 97.75250°W / 30.26639; -97.75250
Built 1951
Architect Burns & McDonnell
NRHP Reference #

13000614

[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP August 20, 2013
Designated RTHL 2007

The Seaholm Power Plant is a historic former power station located on the northern shore of Lady Bird Lake in Downtown Austin, Texas. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.


History

The Seaholm Power Plant was commissioned in 1948 to meet the growing electricity needs of Austin. The nationally-recognized engineering firm Burns & McDonnell designed the complex, which was constructed in two phases in 1951 and 1955. The plan incorporated three structures, as well as a guard booth and storage building. The plant was named 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 power from 1950 to 1959, until demand outpaced the 100 megawatts the plant could generate with all five boilers running. As other stations were built, reliance on Seaholm waned, and in 1989 the Seaholm Power Plant stopped providing power to the city, though it was used as a training facility until 1996, when it closed entirely.

The site lay dormant until 2004, when the Austin City Council requested proposals for redevelopment partners. In late April of 2005, the Seaholm Power, LLC team was selected to create and execute a plan that would make new use of the defunct power plant as well as the surrounding site. A new residence tower is being built on the site. The interior of the power plant will be converted to a mixture of office and retail space.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Kaspar, Mary. "Preserving Seaholm's Power". Retrieved Mar 9, 2015.

External links

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