Early history of the Powerhouse building

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON has graciously provided some early history of the Powerhouse. Included was a link to photos in an archive at the Huntington Library. While perusing those images, I even learned a bit about Mishkon, which eventually purchased the property from Edison in 1961.

Circa 1916, looking north up the dirt road (now 2nd St)

Below the jump, I first show a progression of photos (featuring a higher resolution than the one above). Then I outline the building’s usage and its architecture.

The following images are courtesy of the Huntington Library.

Exterior: Evolution from 1910 to 1941

1910

Edison Electric Co. erected the building in 1909, according to the county assessor’s records. 

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

1913

Next door to the building is the “Lake St. Feed Store” (where the substation is now). Note that where Mishkon now stands is an empty lot, except for what appear to be railroad cars.

1916

By this point, some original equipment has been removed, and newer equipment installed.

1923

Now the street has been paved. Edison has put up a fence. According to a plot map (shown below, at the end), electricity enters the building at 15,000 volts. Along the western edge of the premises stands three smaller, separate buildings: a store room, a pump house, and a cooling tower.

1928

Once again, much of the equipment has been updated. Both of the original racks on the façade have been removed. That is, the high-voltage lines no longer come directly into the building.

At the far left is Mishkon’s first sanctuary building (where our school/office is now). Note the stained-glass windows with two different designs.

1941

Not much has visibly changed during the intervening dozen years. The alley is still unpaved. Southern California Edison has now put its name on the façade. (This is the year that Mishkon broke ground on its second sanctuary building, around the corner on Main Street.)

Evidently, the outdoor substation that is currently next to the Powerhouse would be erected only sometime later.

The sale of the building (and lots) by SCE to Temple Mishkon Tephilo would be recorded on January 20, 1961.

Interior

1911

A sign says “Danger: Live Wires.”

1923

The brick walls have been plastered over.

Building usage: A substation

Audry Williams, Senior Advisor to the Archaeology Program at SCE, sums up the usage of the Powerhouse as follows:

The building in question was the original … building for the Ocean Park Substation. It was never a generation facility. Historically, substations were built inside of buildings and later moved outdoors.

It was the type of substation that converts high-voltage electricity into lower voltage for local distribution. (High voltage is more efficient for long-distance transmission.)

Both the Powerhouse’s original design and the changes over the years were typical for Edison substations. According to the Historic-Era Electrical Infrastructure Management Program, a 124-page report co-authored by Williams in 2015,

From the early 20th Century through the late 1940s, SCE built substation properties to have an appearance that was architecturally pleasing and complementary to the surrounding community. Early substation buildings were developed in the Classical Revival, Mission Revival, Spanish Revival, and Stripped Classical styles.… Prior to ca. 1930, the majority of electrical equipment was installed at the interior of the buildings. [77]

Through time … secondary structures were … replaced at the substation property to support increased electrical service needs. Equipment, including transformers and switch racks, were moved outside the main substation buildings, often leaving control panels and similar equipment inside the buildings. [66]

The same Mission Revival architectural style can be seen in this 1911 photo of an Edison substation in Redondo Beach. The historic report says that it was built in 1910, just a year after “our” substation was built.

1923 Plot Plan Drawing (Condensed)

Acknowledgment

Thanks are due to Diane Castro, Media Relations, SCE, for providing me with the above information — and in the same afternoon that I requested it!