Gazing upon this colossal structure. Can you believe that the Richard L. Hearn Thermal Generating Station was once described as Pharaonic in scale? It is hard to believe. This decommissioned electrical plant holds a significant place in Toronto’s history.
The Richard L. Hearn Generating Station is named after Richard Lankaster Hearn. The power station is located in the Port Lands area. It sits directly south of Carlaw Avenue. It is across the shipping channel. It is next to the Portlands Energy Centre. The Hearn is one of three towering landmarks. These landmarks stand as relics of the area’s industrial past. The other facilities are the Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Commissioners Street waste incinerator.
Let’s step back in time. The R. L. Hearn Generating Station was the site of Canada’s first 100 MW steam turbo-generator set. The station sits on what was once Ashbridge’s Bay. The bay was a shallow marsh. It was filled with rubble from downtown construction sites between 1911 and the 1950s. The Hearn station officially opened on October 26 1951. Leslie Frost the Premier of Ontario opened it. The first two units were in service then. Four units were operating by 1953.
The plant originally burned coal. Ships transported the coal through the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Stone & Webster designed the Richard L. Hearn Generating Station. Parsons in England built the turbine generators. Babcock & Wilcox in Cambridge Ontario made the boilers. Combustion Engineering in Montreal Quebec also made boilers.
Interestingly even as construction wrapped up in the 1950s, Hydro officials considered phasing out the plant. They were thinking about nuclear power. The early years faced labor relation issues. Several unions clashed with management. The R. L. Hearn station became one of the founding locals of the Canadian Union of Operating Engineers and General Workers in 1960.
The Richard L. Hearn plant reached its full capacity of 1200 MW in March 1961. The boilers burned about 400 tons of coal per hour at full load. The turbines required about 36 million gallons of cooling water per hour from Lake Ontario. Total construction cost CA$156 million. The turbine hall was almost 300 meters long. Visitors could view it from a gallery. The gallery was on the west side where the offices were. Units 1 to 4 had one turbine-generator each. The 200 MW units had two turbine-generators per unit. This arrangement was called tandem cross-compound. There were 12 turbine-generator sets in the turbine hall. At its peak in the 1960s the R. L. Hearn employed up to 600 people. Many Ontario Hydro employees began their careers here.
Initially the station had four smaller chimneys. Each boiler had one. The construction of the four 200 MW units added four more chimneys. The last three were taller than the first five. These chimneys caused air pollution in local neighborhoods and downtown Toronto. The station contributed to Toronto’s smog problem.
To combat this pollution, the eight chimneys were demolished. Electrostatic precipitators were added for the 200 MW units. The new single tall smokestack was built. It cost $9 million and was completed in 1971. At 215 meters tall, it was one of the tallest in the world. Air pollution in Toronto decreased.
By the end of 1971 the entire plant converted to burn natural gas. However four units could still burn coal. In December 1972, Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed criticized Ontario. He said the station’s burning of Alberta natural gas was wasteful.
The station ran on natural gas until 1983. Units 1 to 5 were mothballed between 1978 and 1979. Natural gas reduced pollution. But it increased operating costs. The plant’s efficiency was lower than modern plants. The last three 200 MW units resumed burning coal. They were phased out in July 1983. Concerns arose about air pollution. Staff levels reduced to around 180.
Since its closure the Richard L. Hearn Generating Station has been a popular filming location. It has appeared in productions like Goosebumps, 12 Monkeys, and Shazam!. It has also hosted events like the Luminato Festival.
Today the Richard L. Hearn Generating Station stands as a reminder of Toronto’s industrial past. The building may be redeveloped. But it will always be a landmark in the Port Lands. The Hearn District would incorporate the power station into a multi-use district. There would be thousands of residential units and extensive cultural and commercial spaces.