Palazzos of power : central stations of the Philadelphia Electric Company, 1900-1930 / Aaron V. Wunsch, Joseph E.B. Elliott ; foreword by David E. Nye.

Main entry:

Wunsch, Aaron V., author.

Title & Author:

Palazzos of power : central stations of the Philadelphia Electric Company, 1900-1930 / Aaron V. Wunsch, Joseph E.B. Elliott ; foreword by David E. Nye.

Publication:

New York : Princeton Architectural Press, [2016]

Description:

157 pages : chiefly illustrations ; 29 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references.

Summary:

""Majestic," "endangered", and "understudied"--Terms typically applied to endangered species - apply equally, if paradoxically, to one of the greatest sources of pollution in twentieth-century America: coal-fired metropolitan power plants. Nowhere is the building type more spectacularly present or more pressingly at risk than in Philadelphia, home to the mothballed central stations of the Philadelphia Electric Company. Monuments to the city's industrial might and suburban spread, they housed rows of ponderous boilers, turbines, and switchgear, as well as elaborate coal- and ash-handling systems. But it was these machines' neoclassical enclosures that commanded public attention. Designed to convey "solidity and immensity" in an age of deep public skepticism, they now stand vacant and decaying - a "blight" in the eyes of city planners and a beacon to urban explorers. Combining scholarly research, period illustrations, and contemporary photographs, Palazzos of Power sets Philadelphia's central stations in historical context, explains the mechanisms they housed, and records their spaces and surroundings. The book will appeal to scholarly and lay audiences"-- Provided by publisher.

ISBN:

9781616895006 (hardcover)
1616895004 (hardcover)

Subject:

Philadelphia Electric Company Buildings.
Philadelphia Electric Company Buildings Pictorial works.
Philadelphia Electric Company.
Elektrizitätswerk.
Eisenwerk Kraft
Architecture, Industrial Pennsylvania Philadelphia.
Architecture, Industrial Pennsylvania Philadelphia Pictorial works.
Electric power-plants Pennsylvania Philadelphia.
Electric power-plants Pennsylvania Philadelphia Pictorial works.
Architecture industrielle Pennsylvanie Philadelphie.
Architecture industrielle Pennsylvanie Philadelphie Ouvrages illustrés.
Centrales électriques Pennsylvanie Philadelphie.
Centrales électriques Pennsylvanie Philadelphie Ouvrages illustrés.
PHOTOGRAPHY Subjects & Themes Architectural & Industrial.
ARCHITECTURE Buildings Public, Commercial & Industrial.
TRAVEL United States Northeast Middle Atlantic (NJ, NY, PA)
Architecture, Industrial.
Buildings.
Electric power-plants.
Architektur
Industriebau
Philadelphia (Pa.) Buildings, structures, etc.
Philadelphia (Pa.) Buildings, structures, etc. Pictorial works.
Pennsylvania Philadelphia.

Form/genre:

illustrated books.
Illustrated works.
Pictorial works.
Ouvrages illustrés.

Added entries:

Elliott, Joseph E. B., author.
Nye, David E., 1946- writer of foreword.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 293702
Call No.: BIB 238853
Status: Available

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