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Reviews
| The Story of the L Street Power Station 1898–2006. By Gilmore G. Cooke. Kennet Square, Pa.: Exelon Corp., 2007. v+105 pp., illus., diags., tables, bibl. $30 pb (ISBN: 978-0-9795355-0) [avail. from the author gilcooke@ieee.org].
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The L Street Power Station is a major engineering and geographic landmark in Boston. The plant is located on a peninsula known as South Boston, at the intersection of East First Street, L Street, and the "Reserved Channel," which separates the highlands of South Boston from the docklands area of South Boston. After L Street crosses the channel, it becomes Summer Street. A mile further on, it crosses another channel and passes in front of yet another 1898 engineering marvel, the South Station.
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The L Street Power Station is also one of the major landmarks of this reviewer's youth. Even as a preschooler, a typical weekend outing with my father included a visit to Fort Independence on Castle Island. This excursion involved a ride down East First Street past a mysterious railroad spur that led through a rolling door into the interior of the L Street station (now I know what is inside that door), then a right turn onto L Street (now I know the purpose of those tanks on the corner), a drive past the front of the station while staring at chimneys that seemed to go up forever (now I know the purpose of each), with an end stop at the Navy Yard Annex, gazing through a chain-link fence at piles of floats and nets that were Boston's WW II antisubmarine defenses (my interest in industrial archaeology started early).
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This book covers the history of the plant from 1898 to the present. The author breaks the history into five major phases, each clearly described in its own chapter. In essence, these represent five different steam generating plants (160psi, 200psi, 300psi, 1400psi, and 2400psi), built between 1898 and 1965, whose electrical output grew from 9,000 kw to 700,000 kw. The last is still in operation.
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Like most engineers, this reviewer always wants more detail; nothing ever seems like "enough." However, this book really is the "right size" for such a history. Its 105 pages include 33 of text, 45 of photos, and 27 of plans and drawings. The period photos, including construction, equipment, and interiors, are fantastic. What really distinguish this book are the floor plans, building sections, and equipment drawings. These make it possible to follow the design and evolution of the plant in a way that a simple narrative history could not. The photos and drawings are of excellent quality and well printed. Most of the diagrams are original drawings so there is plenty of detail. Examination via magnifying glass is quite rewarding.
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The Story of the L Street Power Station includes an electrical one-line diagram (from 1909) and a steam flow diagram (from 1938). Admittedly these are "snapshots" and do not show all variations in electrical and steam design throughout the life of the plant. However, the author has chosen the examples that best illustrate the philosophy behind the design of the station. One frequently hears the comment about military history that amateurs study tactics while professionals study logistics. With naval history, the amateurs count turrets and guns while the professionals study engine and boiler rooms. For power plants, professionals study the flow of steam and electricity; both are covered here. Rare period photos show the construction of the boilers and details of the coal stokers. Chimneys are critical to the production of steam. This book covers the design of the chimneys with diagrams and construction photos, and includes a discussion of the pioneering 1937 gas scrubbers designed to reduce emissions.
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In older plants, the electric busses and switchgear were literally built into the structure of the building. This feature is illustrated in a cross-section through the switchgear buildings.
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Cooke also covers the architectural features, interior and exterior, of the plant's buildings. While the later expansions of the station were quite utilitarian, the structures associated with the first two phases were designed as showpieces, and the buildings look more like museums of electrical equipment than utility plants. Cooke's bibliography includes 8 books and 20 articles, mostly period items related to the construction or expansion of the station as well as a list of collections consulted at the Harvard University Baker Library.
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| As a final note, the L Street Station is apparently to be discontinued as a generating plant. However, its switchyard will continue as the terminus for a pair of 345 kv underground feeders supplying Boston. These are the first lines over 115 kv to go into Boston and are tapped from an overhead 345 kv transmission line in this reviewer's hometown of Stoughton. |
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