I have no idea why, but this one appears to have slipped through the net of old archive stuff I was thinking of posting up.
Delaware Power Station, so called because it sits on the bank of the Delaware River, was constructed in stages beginning in 1917. At the end of October 1920 the first 30mw turbine was switched on, and subsequent turbines were added between 1921 and 1924 bringing it's final tally to six, capable of generating 183mw of power in total. Despite it's power output it was soon realised that a greater capacity would be needed, so work began on it's sister station, Richmond Park, located a short distance along the river and by 1925 that too had been opened, although it's initial planned size (12 turbines!) was never realised as by the time it was online, power consumption was levelling off. In 1953 an extension to Delaware was added, more than doubling it's original capacity with the addition of two more turbines capable of producing 136mw each. By 1969 all six original turbines were put on standby status, only coming online to provide backup in case more power generation was needed or for load balance. The six older turbines were switched off for good in 1984, and the two 1953 units were placed into standby status until they too were switched off in 2004.
In 2009 the 1953 extension as well as the oil storage tanks on site were demolished, and in 2015 the plant was sold to a real estate developer who had planned to convert the enormous building into two hotels as well as event spaces and restaurants. So far this plan has never been acted upon and the power plant, along with it's sister station a stones throw away, sit vacant.
I had a failed attempt at this place on a previous trip to Philly, after totally unexpectedly running into maintenance workers outside the site. However I went back a year later and had a very successful trip, managing to see pretty much everything. Unlike Richmond Park, the turbine hall has long been stripped of everything, there are only a couple of turbine cores left. The boiler house and associated other stuff however is all intact, and we were quite shocked to find the control room, housed in a usually very secure building at the front, open - although we weren't alone in there as there were some people up to no good inside who seemed very shady, we only took a few quick snaps before leaving as we didn't want to have to go near them. This is also potentially the only power station in the world which featured a workers basketball court inside!
The roof is probably one of the most impressive sights at this place.
Thanks for looking
Delaware Power Station, so called because it sits on the bank of the Delaware River, was constructed in stages beginning in 1917. At the end of October 1920 the first 30mw turbine was switched on, and subsequent turbines were added between 1921 and 1924 bringing it's final tally to six, capable of generating 183mw of power in total. Despite it's power output it was soon realised that a greater capacity would be needed, so work began on it's sister station, Richmond Park, located a short distance along the river and by 1925 that too had been opened, although it's initial planned size (12 turbines!) was never realised as by the time it was online, power consumption was levelling off. In 1953 an extension to Delaware was added, more than doubling it's original capacity with the addition of two more turbines capable of producing 136mw each. By 1969 all six original turbines were put on standby status, only coming online to provide backup in case more power generation was needed or for load balance. The six older turbines were switched off for good in 1984, and the two 1953 units were placed into standby status until they too were switched off in 2004.
In 2009 the 1953 extension as well as the oil storage tanks on site were demolished, and in 2015 the plant was sold to a real estate developer who had planned to convert the enormous building into two hotels as well as event spaces and restaurants. So far this plan has never been acted upon and the power plant, along with it's sister station a stones throw away, sit vacant.
I had a failed attempt at this place on a previous trip to Philly, after totally unexpectedly running into maintenance workers outside the site. However I went back a year later and had a very successful trip, managing to see pretty much everything. Unlike Richmond Park, the turbine hall has long been stripped of everything, there are only a couple of turbine cores left. The boiler house and associated other stuff however is all intact, and we were quite shocked to find the control room, housed in a usually very secure building at the front, open - although we weren't alone in there as there were some people up to no good inside who seemed very shady, we only took a few quick snaps before leaving as we didn't want to have to go near them. This is also potentially the only power station in the world which featured a workers basketball court inside!
The roof is probably one of the most impressive sights at this place.
Thanks for looking
