The IRT Powerhouse is a former power station of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company

Interborough Rapid Transit Company

The Interborough Rapid Transit Company was the private operator of the original underground New York City Subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT was purchased by the City in June 1940...

. Built in 1904, the "thoroughly classical colossus of a building" fills the entire block between 58th to 59th Street, and from 11th to 12th Avenues in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 at 40°46′19"N 73°59′32"W. The building became unnecessary to the subway system in the 1950s, it has since been operated by Con Ed.

The powerhouse is an elaborately detailed Renaissance Revival building. The architect was Stanford White

Stanford White

Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...

 of McKim, Mead & White. The building's magnificence and ornate details reflect the ideas of the City Beautiful movement

City Beautiful movement

The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy concerning North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago,...

. It has been described as "a classical temple that paid homage to modern industry. According to the Municipal Art Society

Municipal Art Society

The Municipal Art Society of New York, founded in 1893, is a non-profit membership organization that fights for intelligent urban planning, design and preservation through education, dialogue and advocacy in New York City....

, many of the building’s original details are intact, although in March 2009, the Consolidated Edison Company removed the last of its original smokestacks. However, one smokestack built in 1967 remains. The building originally had six smokestacks, designed to echo the smokestacks on the great steamships at the nearby Hudson River

Hudson River

The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

piers.

External links

• http://thepowerhousegroup.org/docs/proposal.pdf
• http://www.hudsonriverpowerhouse.com/docs/Preservation_plan.pdf
• http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID136.htm with image