{"nrhp_refnum":"80000793","name":"Union Iron Works Powerhouse","other_names":["Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard Powerhouse"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2308 Webster St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Alameda","county":"Alameda County","state":"CA","lat":37.786698185000034,"lon":-122.27527350899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-01-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story brick-veneered, steel-frame and reinforced concrete industrial power house at 2308 Webster Street, Alameda, California, built in 1917 for the Union Iron Works shipyard and designed by architect Frederick H. Meyer.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is an excellent example of the 'beautiful' power house type for which the San Francisco Bay Area was nationally known, designed by a prominent architect of that type. It was also the principal power house for a shipyard that played a major role in both World Wars. It is one of the last buildings remaining from that shipyard.","narrative":"Built in 1917 at 2308 Webster Street in Alameda, this power house supplied electricity to the Union Iron Works shipyard, later the Bethlehem Alameda Shipyard. The one-story building is 110 feet long and 53 feet wide, with steel framing, reinforced concrete walls and a brick veneer. Five arched openings line each long side, and black and red brick laid in diamond patterns decorate the ends. Architect Frederick H. Meyer designed it in the classical manner favored for Pacific Gas and Electric buildings of the period, reflecting the City Beautiful Movement. Lange and Bergstrom built it for about $60,000. It was the main generating plant for what was then the largest shipbuilding plant on the Pacific Coast, which set production records in World War I and repaired over 1,000 commercial vessels in World War II. Most shipyard buildings have since been demolished, leaving this power house and the Turbine Machine Shop. The building is now vacant, with boarded openings.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Frederick H. Meyer, architect; Lange and Bergstrom, builders","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as unoccupied and vacant, with windows and entrances boarded up, on an overgrown lot; a mixed-use redevelopment retaining the building was proposed.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.074334-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/80000793.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000793/f52454f766-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000793/f52454f766-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"LPS.1","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Iron_Works_Powerhouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">LPS.1</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Iron_Works_Powerhouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858365","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q117213005"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/alameda-county/union-iron-works-powerhouse-80000793/"}