Baltimore, MD: 1909 Phillips Seafood/ESPN Zone/Six Flags/18.6mw Pratt Street Power Plant

(Satellite)

A photo that is old enough to still have the coal unloaders next to the boiler house. The buildings north and south of the boiler house are engine houses.

0:04 video
[25,000 horsepower is 18.6mw.]

 

The north engine house looked different because it was rebuilt after the 1904 fire that destroyed much of downtown Baltimore. 

William Holley posted
Brett Wanamaker shared

Scott Laugel: During a business trip to Baltimore 25 years ago, I went to a retired power plant that had a ESPN Zone Club on the ground floor and a Gold's Gym on the old turbine deck. ESPN closed the Zone Club, but I wondered if the plant pictured in this post was the same power plant that had the ESPN Zone and Gold's Gym. It was a neat place back then!

Brett Wanamaker: Scott Laugel yeah this is the same plant! Pratt Street

HAER MD,4-BALT,187-

"Significance: The Pratt Street Power Plant is a striking example of early 20th century industrial architecture and one of 11 buildings to survive the Baltimore Fire of 1904. The central and southern buildings are the work of Baldwin and Pennington, a noted Baltimore architectural firm. The Power Plant, still a dominant structure in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, was constructed to serve as the principal power source for the United Railways and Electric Company. In 1984 the Power Plant was converted to an entertainment center. No boilers or machinery survive although some original equipment may remain as part of a "small historical exhibit" mounted within the now defunct entertainment center." [HAER_data]

cordish
A redevelopment in 1985 failed, but the redevelopment by Cordish has been a success.
It attracts 10 million visitors annually and is the top destination in Maryland. Of note, the first redevelopment in 1985 was an indoors Sig Flags.

Street View, Jun 2024

It was also known as the Pier Four Power Plant.

Street View, Aug 2022

gem
"The current complex of three structures is located at Pratt Street and Pier 4 at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The structures are brick with terra cotta trim and steel frame construction. It was built between 1900 and 1909 and is a massive industrial structure with Neo-Classical detailing designed by the noted architectural firm of Baldwin & Pennington. It served as the main source of power for the United Railways and Electric Company, a consolidation of smaller street railway systems, that influenced the provision of city-wide transportation and opened up suburban areas of Baltimore to power its electric street railway in the city."