Akron, OH: Beech Street Power then Steam Plant

hmdb (Satellite)
Fueling Growth in a New Century

In 1888, the coal-fired Beech Street Powerhouse was built to supply power for Akron's new electric trolleys, which replaced the city's horse-drawn streetcars. Soon the plant was selling electricity to new businesses in downtown Akron, fueling rapid growth as the 20th Century began.

Ohio's infamous 1913 flood quenched the boilers of the powerhouse, ending its operations. It lay dormant for fourteen years, until technology created a new use for the site-steam heat for downtown businesses.

Did you know the Akron Steam Heating Company built a new plant on this site in 1927, which distributed steam through underground pipes to downtown businesses? By eliminating the need for individual boilers to heat each building, this development fueled another generation of growth in downtown Akron. The steam plant was demolished in 2005, 25 years after operations ceased.

This photo is also one the above historical marker. The marker below is about his plant.

I added the "steam" label to these notes because this power plant furnished steam to some of the buildings in Akron instead of generating electricity.

hmdb (Satellite, historical marker in front of the foundation wall.)
Heating a City -- Beech Street Steam Plant

The Beech Street Steam Plant was a classic example of the industrial boom in Akron. The plant originally had a two-boiler system with one smokestack, and it forced steam through pipes to downtown Akron. Steam heat was an advanced technology at the time because it conserved fuel, produced less smoke pollution and caused fewer factory fires.

As Akron's population grew, so did the plant, adding four boilers and two more smokestacks. The plant hit its peak in the 1950s, servicing such businesses as the O'Neil's and Polsky's department stores. All that remains of the Beech Street Steam Plant is the eastern foundation wall in front of you, preserved as part of Cascade Locks Park.

Transportation Nation

The tracks found next to the foundation wall belonged to the Valley Railroad. The railroad's close proximity allowed easy unloading of coal straight into the plant. Originally, the tracks. continued into downtown Akron, but the Innerbelt (SR 59) later cut the lines short.

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Generations of Power

This site represents four generations of energy technology. Before the 1880s, lard lamps lit the mill's interior and water power turned the millstones. Schumacher then added a powerhouse with a 125-foot chimney to supplement water power with steam generated by coal-burning furnaces and provide electric lights in the mill. Schumacher also drilled natural gas wells for power. Today, electric power literally overshadows the site. The steel tower here is part of FirstEnergy's distribution grid.

When powered only by water, Cascade Mills had 12 millstones in operation and could produce 2,700 bushels of flour each day. With the addition of steam power, the mill expanded to 18 millstones and an estimated 4,000 bushels a day.

Steam power was available prior to the Civil War. These 1868, 1876 and 1880s photographs demonstrate the changes that occurred to the mill to accommodate steam power, including building additions and increasing the size of the central chimney.

This is the steel tower that is just north of the above "Generations of Power" marker. In the background we see the Water Wheel Display that has 8 historical markers on its base about the Cascade Mills.

Street View, May 2024