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The Story of New York City’s Palace of Power

At the end of the 19th century, New York’s civic and business leaders recognized the need to build a world-class subway system.  The city was congested and needed a better way to get people to and from home and work.  The City set out to build a new transportation system to solve this problem, one that might rival the mass transit systems of London and Boston. 

Construction of the New York City subway began in 1900 by the Interboro Rapid Transit Company ("IRT"), one of two private companies commissioned to build and operate the subways. In addition to the tunnels and tracks, the subway system needed facilities to house the turbines and generators that would power the trains. These would have to be huge buildings to house the massive equipment that would turn water into steam and steam into electricity. One of these giant power plants was the IRT Powerhouse on Eleventh Avenue between 58th and 59th Streets.

The IRT Powerhouse was built between 1900 and 1904.  Upon completion it was the largest powerhouse in the world.  It spanned an entire New York City block.  Just as impressive as its size, however, was its architectural beauty. The directors of the IRT did not want to build a plain steel and brick structure.  While most power stations were being built as simple utilitarian structures, the IRT was thinking far grander.  They knew that most of their great subway system would be out of sight, under ground. They had few above-ground opportunities in which to create great architecture...to show both visitors to the city and full-time New Yorkers how proud they were of their system.  To this end, the IRT hired the best architects of their day, McKim Mead & White, to design a Beaux Arts masterpiece, a block-long tribute to the massive undertaking that was the subway system. When it was finished it was just that: an architectural testament to the importance of this new mode of transportation in this quickly expanding city.

As David Lowe, the architect and author, so eloquently noted, "if the Woolworth Building was a Cathedral of Commerce, this is a Palace of Power."

The IRT Powerhouse powered the City’s subways for more than 50 years.  By 1959, the need for electricity to power the subway system had waned and the City sold the Powerhouse to Consolidated Edison. Gradually, the building was converted to a steam-generating plant. Today the Powerhouse only produces steam. 

In 2007, two New Yorkers took note of the Powerhouse while jogging along the Hudson River.  They did a little research and found out that the building was a McKim Mead & White design.  This was not surprising considering how ornate and beautiful the building was.  What was surprising was the fact that the Powerhouse was not landmarked.  Though it had been proposed for landmarking twice before in 1979 and 1991, each time the Landmarks Preservation Commission declined to landmark the building.

For some historic buildings, landmarking is not as necessary.  Their owners take great care to preserve the buildings for future generations and have no desires to tear those historic structures down.  For the Powerhouse, however, landmarking is crucial because the current owner, Con Edison, has not properly regarded the building since its purchase in the late 1950s.  Con Edison has allowed the façade to suffer from the elements and has even gone out of its way to remove pieces of the building.  In 1968, Con Edison removed the original elaborate cornice.  Between 1970 and 2009 the company tore down all six original smokestacks.  More concerning, Con Edison, if left to its own devices, could demolish the Powerhouse tomorrow if it wanted, and sell the lot to a real estate developer,   just as it did in 2004 with the Waterside Power Plant on the East River between 38th and 42nd Streets.

In 2007, these two New Yorkers, Jimmy Finn & Paul Kelterborn, decided it was time to stop Con Edison from mistreating the building and planning for its destruction.  It was time to landmark it once and for all.

Finn & Kelterborn formed the Hudson River Powerhouse Group to lobby the city to designate the Powerhouse a landmark, raise funds to preserve and restore the Powerhouse, and begin to re-imagine the Powerhouse reborn as a public space.  Their quest continues today…with your help.