Property Record
355 W PARK ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Powell Falls Hydroelectric Development |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 240830 |
| Location (Address): | 355 W PARK ST |
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| County: | Pierce |
| City: | River Falls |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
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| Year Built: | 1965 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 2019 |
| Historic Use: | public utility/power plant/sewage/water |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | Masonry |
| Wall Material: | Concrete Block |
| Architect: | Unknown |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | 2019: The Powell Falls development consists of a concrete gravity dam with an integrated powerhouse at its left (east) abutment. The dam measures 110 feet long and 16.5 feet high with an uncontrolled overflow spillway on the right (west) abutment. The block-shaped powerhouse has a combination brick and concrete block superstructure on a cast concrete substructure. The building has a flat roof, clerestory windows on the north elevation that are boarded up, and metal pedestrian entrances on the east and west elevations. On the north side of the powerhouse are the water intake headworks. Wrapping around the exterior of the powerhouse is a wood and metal access platform with metal safety rail. There is a cast concrete addition on the north elevation that contains equipment storage area and a heat furnace that vents up through a brick chimney. The main generator floor contains a single General Electric generator rated at 125 kW coupled to a Leffel hydraulic turbine. A transmission line leads from the powerhouse to the control room of the Junction Falls powerhouse. |
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| Bibliographic References: | City of River Falls n.d. “History of the River Falls Hydro-Electric Facilities.” Poster presentation on display at the Junction Mill plant. Stoner, J. J., 1880 “Bird’s Eye View of River Falls, Pierce County, Wisconsin.” Available online from the Wisconsin Historical Society at http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/maps/id/94/rec/1 Ericson, Timothy L., 1981 River Falls, Wisconsin: A History, 1885-1910. Thesis, Master of Arts in History, University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Hess, Jeffrey, 1989 Minnesota Hydroelectric Generating Facilities, 1881-1928. National Register of Historic Places. Washington, D. C. 2009 “History of River Falls.” Available online at https://www.rfcity.org/177/History-of-River-Falls; accessed December 18, 2019. 2019 “The City on the Kinni.” Available online at https://rfcity.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=04b5b5ea70a14f2692eac59406b1e6f6; accessed December 19, 2019. Pierce County Historical Association, 2019 “History of the Town of River Falls.” Available online at https://riverfallstown.com/history-of-the-town-of-river-falls/; accessed December 18, 2019. Price, David, 2020 Architectural Resources Survey for the River Falls Hydroelectric Project (FERC No. 10489), Pierce County, Wisconsin. TRC. Nashville, TN. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |