Historic American Buildings Survey,
Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey
View photos from this survey. (Some may not be online).
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Philadelphia Electric Company, Richmond Power Station, 4101 North Delaware Avenue (southeast end of Lewis Street along Delaware River), Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA
- Title: Philadelphia Electric Company, Richmond Power Station, 4101 North Delaware Avenue (southeast end of Lewis Street along Delaware River), Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA
- Creator(s): Historic American Engineering Record, creator
- Related Names:
Philadelphia Electric Company
Windrim, John Torrey
Eglin, William C. L.
Exelon
Price, Virginia Barrett , transmitter
Elliott, Joseph E. B. , photographer
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts , sponsor
Elliott, Joseph E. B. , photographer
Elliott, Joseph E. B. , historian
McPartland, Mary , transmitter - Date Created/Published: Documentation compiled after 1968
- Medium:
Photo(s): 71
Color Transparencies: 1
Data Page(s): 8
Photo Caption Page(s): 5 - Reproduction Number: ---
- Rights Advisory:
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html)
- Call Number: HAER PA-574
- Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
- Notes:
- Significance: Richmond Station was built during a period of great expansion by Philadelphia Electric Company, from the initial widespread distribution of electric service in the city, through the industrial ramp-up during the First World War, through the boom years of the 1920s. The period lasted from approximately 1902 with the construction of the Schuylkill Station (Station A, later A-1, HAER PA-656), and continued with Chester Waterside Station (HAER PA-505) and Delaware Station (HAER PA-657). The expansion period ended with the construction of Richmond Station (HAER PA-574) in 1928 and the stock market crash of 1929. The four monumental central stations were all designed in variations of the Beaux Arts style by Windrim, with technical design by engineer Eglin. In addition to the four central generating stations, the PECo network of this period included many substations and company retail offices designed by Windrim, most with similar architectural styles, providing a prominent nd unified presence that bespoke reliability and stability of the company to the residents and factory owners in the city of Philadelphia. Completed in 1928, the Richmond Station is significant for its association with the Philadelphia Electric Company and as a major work of architecture and engineering by architect John T. Windrim and engineer Charles C. L. Eglin. The last of the four central stations built by Philadelphia Electric Company in the post- World War I period, Richmond Station was arguably Windrim’s most distinctive architectural statement. Its barrel-vaulted Turbine Hall, supported by graceful steel arches recalls the grandeur of New York’s Pennsylvania Station (McKim, Mead, and White, 1910). It was one of the first large structures in Philadelphia to make extensive use of exterior lighting for the purpose of advertising itself to the public. Its Beaux Arts exterior was projected as a glowing beacon of stability and order to passengers travelling the adjacent railway, creating an ennobling monument to electricity and to the industrial and social progress that Philadelphia Electric's expansion had enabled.
- Survey number: HAER PA-574
- Building/structure dates: 1924-1926 Initial Construction
- Building/structure dates: 1935 Subsequent Work
- Building/structure dates: 1952 Subsequent Work
- National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 100007095
- Subjects:
- Place:
- Latitude/Longitude: 39.984499, -75.074917
- Collections:
- Part of: Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)
- Bookmark This Record:
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/pa3815/
The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For further rights information, see "Rights Information" below and the Rights and Restrictions Information page ( https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/rights.html ).
- Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
- Reproduction Number: ---
- Call Number: HAER PA-574
- Medium:
Photo(s): 71
Color Transparencies: 1
Data Page(s): 8
Photo Caption Page(s): 5
If Digital Images Are Displaying
You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.
HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).
- Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
- Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
- If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
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- Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
- If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
- Data Pages
- Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.
If Digital Images Are Not Displaying
In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:
- Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
- P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
- Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
- You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
- Make note of the Call Number listed above.
- Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
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- Call Number: HAER PA-574
- Medium:
Photo(s): 71
Color Transparencies: 1
Data Page(s): 8
Photo Caption Page(s): 5
Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.
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Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will
be visible on the left.)
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Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
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No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
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Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that
a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?
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Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
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No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
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If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.
To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.
