A colossal concrete structure looms before you. This is the Delaware Generating Station. It once powered Philadelphia. Now it stands as a testament to industrial might and urban transformation.
The Delaware Generating Station’s story begins in 1913. Philadelphia Electric Company purchased the Neafie & Levy Shipyard. A new power station was needed. The city’s burgeoning industries needed more electricity. More homes were using electric appliances. The demand was immense.
Architect John T Windrim designed this Beaux Arts marvel. He collaborated with PECO’s William C L Eglin. The station was massive. It had a boiler house a turbine hall and a switch house. It was a five-story reinforced concrete building. Construction took five years. By 1923 all six turbines were operational. They generated 180,000 kw. The station employed over 150 people. It supplied over 46 percent of Philadelphia’s peak load. It was the city’s largest power station.
In the 1950s PECO expanded the station. The city and its suburbs grew. The demand for electricity soared. By 1953 the Delaware Generating Station supplied 25 percent of Philadelphia’s electricity. The station’s capacity had climbed to 1,873,000 kw. This boom was short-lived. Newer cleaner technologies emerged. Nuclear power became dominant. The original boiler houses were shut down in 1969. No electricity was generated in the Turbine Hall after that date.
In 2000 PECO was bought by Exelon. In 2008 the Delaware Generating Station ceased operations. The turbines generators and oil tanks were demolished. The building fell into disrepair. Vandals targeted the empty property. It remained vacant until 2015. Then L-A Battery QOZ LLC bought it.
The Delaware Generating Station’s rehabilitation started in 2019. It was completed in December 2023. Federal and state historic tax credits helped fund the $225 million project. The once-vacant industrial campus was transformed. It now boasts 186 residential apartments office space recreational areas event spaces hotel rooms and retail space. The building’s exterior retains its historic features. The interior preserves the original concrete and structural steel. The Delaware Generating Station’s transformation is a powerful symbol of urban renewal. It’s a reminder of Philadelphia’s industrial past and its vibrant future.