Seaholm Power Plant facts for kids
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Seaholm Power Plant
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Seaholm Power Plant in 2013, viewed from the west
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 Location in Texas
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| Location | 800 W Cesar Chavez St Austin, Texas |
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| Area | 2.75 acres (1.11 ha) |
| Built | 1951 |
| Architect | Burns & McDonnell |
| Architectural style | Art Moderne |
| NRHP reference No. | 13000614 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | August 20, 2013 |
The Seaholm Power Plant is a cool old building in Austin, Texas. It sits right by Lady Bird Lake in the city center. This building used to be a power station, which means it made electricity for the city.
Today, it's not a power plant anymore! It's been changed into a busy area with offices, shops, and restaurants. It's also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important historical site in the United States. It's also a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, showing its special place in Texas history.
Contents
A Look Back: Seaholm's Story
Making Power for Austin
The Seaholm Power Plant was built to help Austin get enough electric power. Construction started in 1948 and finished in two main parts, in 1951 and 1955. The company Burns & McDonnell designed this big building.
When it first opened, the plant had a main building for generators, a place to take in water, and a building to heat oil. Later, a guard booth and a storage building were added. At first, people called it "Power Plant No. 2." But in 1960, it was renamed after Walter E. Seaholm. He was an important person who helped manage Austin's city services.
From 1950 to 1959, Seaholm was Austin's only source of electricity. It could make 120 megawatts of power. That's a lot! But Austin grew quickly, and soon the city needed even more power. New power plants were built, so Austin didn't rely on Seaholm as much. In 1989, Seaholm stopped making electricity. It was used for training until 1996, when it closed completely.
Giving Seaholm a New Life
After closing, the plant sat empty for a while. Then, in 2004, the Austin city council asked for ideas to reuse the site. A group called "Seaholm Power, LLC" was chosen in 2005 to lead the project. They worked with the city to plan how to fix up the old plant and build new things around it.
Work on the plant started in 2013. The inside of the main building, where the generators used to be, was turned into spaces for offices, shops, and places to eat. New businesses started moving in by 2015. A tall apartment building called Seaholm Residences was also built nearby and opened in 2015. There's still a part of the plant, the water intake building, that hasn't been fully redeveloped yet.
How Seaholm Made Power
Seaholm was a special kind of power plant. Its huge boilers were outside, but its generators were inside the main building. It had five large Westinghouse generators. The plant started with two 20-megawatt generators. Later, two more 20-megawatt units were added, and then one even bigger 40-megawatt unit.
The plant was built with underground pits for ash, which meant it could have burned coal. However, it never actually used coal. It also had tanks and a building to burn crude oil. But for most of its life, Seaholm ran on natural gas.
Seaholm's Cool Design
The Main Generator Building
The biggest building at Seaholm is the Turbine Generator Building. It's three stories tall and faces the lake. Its outside walls are made of strong reinforced concrete. You can see two large doors facing south and many big industrial windows.
Above the two main entryways, there are cool metal letters in an Art Moderne style. These letters are on glass-block panels and say "City of Austin." On top of the awnings over the doors, more letters say "Light" (above the west door) and "Power" (above the east door). The side of the building facing west also has metal letters that say "City of Austin Power Plant." The back of the building has five large outdoor boilers with tall smokestacks. Inside, the building has four levels, with a huge two-story room where the turbines used to be.
The Water Intake Building
The Water Intake Structure is right on the shore of Lady Bird Lake, just south of the main building. It looks a lot like the generator building, with concrete walls and large industrial windows. The side of this building facing the lake is two stories high. It has ten sluice gates, which are like big doors that let water in.
This water was used to cool the plant's steam condensers. Huge underground pipes carried the water to the generator building. After the water was used for cooling, it was sent back out into nearby Shoal Creek.
Images for kids
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Seaholm Power Plant in 2013, viewed from the west
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Exterior lettering above the east entry to the Turbine Generator Building's south face
