Silver Lake Power Plant

SILVER LAKE POWER PLANT

Planning for the future of a unique industrial complex

"This grant is an exciting step in the process of understanding and preserving the history in Rochester. The recently adopted Strategic Plan calls for the Heritage Preservation Commission to review and consider over 100 properties over the next 18 months. This grant will help to achieve this goal and help to identify, earlier, properties that might be saved and reused rather than demolished."

- Molly Patterson-Lundgren, City of Rochester Heritage Preservation and Urban Design Coordinator

LOCATION

CLIENT

CONSTRUCTED

PROJECT DATE

PROJECT SCOPE

PROPERTY SIZE

Rochester, MN

City of Rochester

1949 - 1969

2021

Historical research; evaluation of National Register of Historic Places eligibility

12 Acres

news

A Streamline Moderne-style power plant is evaluated for National Register eligibility.

CHALLENGE

Rochester’s Silver Lake Power Plant is a striking Streamline Moderne-style industrial plant. The plant, which was constructed in stages between 1949 and 1969, has provided power to the City of Rochester for decades. Today, the plant operates in a more limited capacity and will eventually be decommissioned. In order to better plan for the future of the site, the City of Rochester applied for and received a grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (“Legacy Grant”) to evaluate the plant’s eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places.

SUCCESS

New History completed historical research and an on-site survey of the property to evaluate its potential eligibility for the National Register. The evaluation found that the plant is likely eligible for its Streamline Moderne-style architecture, a style historically associated with efficiency, modernity, and technological advancement. With this knowledge, the City of Rochester can continue to evaluate options for the long-term use of the site.

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