{"nrhp_refnum":"07000467","name":"Chester Waterside Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company","other_names":["Delaware County Electrical Co.","Chester Station"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2501 Seaport Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chester","county":"Delaware County","state":"PA","lat":39.830116457500054,"lon":-75.3829387008704,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-05-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A coal-fired electric generating station on the west bank of the Delaware River in the City of Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, begun in 1916 for the Philadelphia Electric Company. It is organized as three blocks (Boiler House with Coal Towers, Turbine Hall, and Switch House) and was later rehabilitated for multi-tenant office use.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the station is the most complete expression of the third phase of power station design, in which boiler, turbine and switching functions were physically separated and expressed in the architecture. It also presents the building as an industrial example of Beaux Arts classicism and City Beautiful ideals, designed by John T. Windrim with William C. L. Eglin.","narrative":"Beaux Arts industrial station on the west bank of the Delaware River in Chester, Pennsylvania, begun in 1916 as a coal-fired power plant for the Philadelphia Electric Company. Designed by John T. Windrim with company engineer William C. L. Eglin, the building is arranged in three blocks: the Boiler House with coal towers, the Turbine Hall, and the Switch House. Colossal Tuscan columns, a bracketed cornice and light brown brick give it a monumental civic appearance, which the company used to project stability to customers and investors during a lawsuit challenging its business practices. The Turbine Hall is a barrel-vaulted space about 72 feet wide. The station is significant as the fullest example of the third phase of power plant design, in which switching, turbine and boiler spaces were separated and expressed externally. A 1939-1942 annex extended the turbine hall. Its construction period ends in 1942, the date of its last major addition.","period_of_significance":"1916-1942","architect_builder":"John T. Windrim (architect); William C. L. Eglin (engineer)","architectural_style":"Beaux Arts","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Rehabilitated for multi-tenant office occupancy, completed in 2005, as a historic tax credit project.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.540241-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/07000467.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000467/b7b9286921-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000467/b7b9286921-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jack Boucher","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chester_Waterside_Station_of_the_Philadelphia_Electric_Company.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jack Boucher</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chester_Waterside_Station_of_the_Philadelphia_Electric_Company.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995023","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Waterside_Station_of_the_Philadelphia_Electric_Company","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15209547"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/delaware-county/chester-waterside-station-of-the-philadelphia-electric-company-07000467/"}