Steam Plant Facility: The Construction
Phase I construction, 1914
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The Steam Plant was built in three phases from 1914 to 1921. The first phase, constructed in 1914, was built upon 2,000 wooden pilings driven into the shoreline of Lake Union. The plant contained four boilers that each stood 26 feet high, as well as pumps, tanks, and generation equipment. Above the boilers stood two steel stacks rising 95 feet above the roof.
Phase II was designed and constructed in 1918, expanding the generating capacity by adding four more boilers, an additional turbine generator, and two more stacks.
Phase III was designed in 1920 and constructed in 1921. Six more boilers, another generator, and three more smokestacks were added, bringing the total production capacity of the plant to 30,000 kilowatts. The exterior of the plant assumed a more formal civic appearance, increasing the height by adding a second story. The penthouse contained the control panels that distributed the power across the city.
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