This power plant was actually the first decent plant I ever found. Fast forward a few years to March of this year, I finally got around to exploring it. My adventure began with me and a buddy of mine walking down a set of active railroad tracks. We had to walk underneath a highway overpass through a decently long railroad tunnel, so all we were hoping for was that no trains came by. We got through the tunnel just fine and then we started following an overgrown path that led right to the fence surrounding the plant. This we would soon regret. The day we chose to explore was the first day where temperatures got above 40, so literally every single tick imaginable happened to be out that day. Our entire 10 minute walk up to the fence would include a tick check every minute or so, and every check there were at least a couple on us. Finally we reached the fence, and to our luck there was a spot where the gate was wide open. That was one obstacle solved. I wanted to get some aerial shots so we hid behind some bushes on the interior side of the fence while I got my drone out. The flight was fine and we were able to verify no one was at the plant. Or so we thought. Just as I had packed my drone away we heard footsteps approaching us. I thought this was where we were gonna get busted. We hadn't even gotten inside the plant, yet we just happened to be on the side of the fence where it would count as trespassing. That's when a homeless looking person with wire cutters and other tools popped out of the vegetation. "Oh, I was just making sure you guys weren't FBI or cops," he said. "You know, you can go into that building if you want." I guess he hadn't seen our obvious intentions. He offered to show us the way in, so we hesitantly followed him. As we approached the building he mentioned how he had stolen nearly a million dollars worth of metal from the building since he first got inside in 2002. He told us how he'd bring a boat up from the nearby river and just load it up with metal. He also told us how the plant was originally locked up with a keypad, however he was able to figure out the combination after a few hours of guessing. We weren't really sure what to believe.
After a few more minutes we were finally inside. However, we were initially met with disappointment. The floor we were presented with was completely scrapped of nearly everything. The scrapper went his separate way and my buddy and I started venturing around the empty floor. At this point we thought the entire plant would be like this, but thankfully we were wrong. We got up to the turbine hall floor and mostly everything was still there, albeit very trashed. Surprisingly there wasn't a speck of graffiti however it was clear someone had came in and messed the place up. Also alongside one of the walls were what appeared to be asbestos abatement tarp. We initially thought the plant was undergoing demolition, and we were partly right. The scrapper later clarified that a few months ago demolition began but was stopped for unknown reasons.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Now that we had checked out most of the turbine hall we headed towards the control room. We had some high hopes but the room was completely trashed and empty except for the main control board.
1.
1.
With the control room done, albeit we were disappointed, we headed towards the lab. This was even more disappointing.
1.
The windows were completely gone along with most of the equipment. There were a few textbooks along the shelves in the back but I didn't look into them much. Continuing on we started heading towards the boilers. This was pretty cool. All the machinery was still there and in pretty decent condition. The huge block windows scattered around the plant made for some great natural light back here.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
At this point we had been in the plant for a few hours so we decided to head out. Although the glory days of exploring this plant are over, it was still cool to see some of it's features. The plant was built during the 40's, a time period where power plants were starting to be constructed in a solely utilitarian manner. This building was a great demonstration of the transition. While it didn't have any incredible architectural features like some art deco plants of the 20s and 30s, it still managed to impress with the large block windows and the minty tiling around the plant. There's no doubt in my mind the architects who built it were proud of their result. It's cool to think back on what the plant used to look like, in it's operating stages and it's early abandonment stages. While this isn't the last of the smaller abandoned plants from the 40s, it sure is one of the few. It's sad to see the heavy vandalism brought upon the building and the imminent demolition it now faces. Thank you for reading.