Seaholm Power Plant

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. Now, most towns'll let somebody else worry about keeping the lights on. Not Austin.

No sir. Austin has owned its very own power generation and distribution system since 1895 — and that is a rarity among large cities, the marker'll tell you flat out — ever since the Colorado River was first dammed to squeeze electricity out of it and send it crackling into the Texas capital. That's the kind of stubbornness that either gets you in trouble or makes you a legend.

In Austin's case, maybe a little of both. Fast-forward past two World Wars, past a population that just kept on growing, past the postwar surge of new appliances and — oh, sweet mercy — air conditioning. Because once Texans discovered air conditioning, there was no going back, and the city's existing plant simply could not keep pace.

So in 1948, Austin commissioned something bigger. Something bolder. Something just west of the existing site, right here on this ground.

They brought in Burns and McDonnell, a nationally known engineering firm out of Kansas City, and those folks designed a complex that rolled out in two phases — 1950 and then 1955 — like a slow, confident hand being laid on a table. And what a hand it was. The massive plant included a generator building — designed to ultimately house five hydrogen-cooled turbine generators, though it started with two — along with outdoor boilers, an oil heating plant, a demineralization building, and a water intake structure.

Now here's where it gets interesting, because Burns and McDonnell had built other power plants up to that time using structural steel. But not this one. This one they built in solid concrete.

Site-cast structural concrete, scored concrete panel cladding, metal divided-light windows, glass blocks. Art Moderne style, the marker calls it — and the turbine generator building even features distinctive illuminated Moderne graphics right in its signage. A power plant with style.

Austin was always gonna have it that way. Then on June 2, 1960, the city paused from all that electricity and all that ambition to do something quiet and right. They renamed the plant.

Posthumously dedicated it to a man named Walter E. Seaholm — born 1897, died 1956 — who had given 35 years of his life to the city of Austin, serving as both City Manager and Director of Utilities. The man didn't live to see his name go up on the building, but the building earned his name all the same.

Seaholm Power Plant kept the lights burning, kept the air conditioners humming, kept Austin going — right up until 1989. Nearly four decades of faithful service. There's a lesson somewhere in that concrete.

A city that refused to let someone else control its power, a plant built to last, and a name on the wall for a man who spent a lifetime making sure the lights came on. That's Austin. That's the marker.

And now you know.

What the marker says

This complex is an industrial and architectural landmark in Austin. Electric power arrived in the Texas capital in 1895, after the Colorado River was first dammed to generate electricity. The city of Austin has owned its own generation and distribution system ever since, a rarity among large cities. A growing population and post-World War II demand for new appliances and air conditioning increased the need for electricity. In 1948, the city of Austin commissioned a new power generation plant to be built here, just west of the existing site. Designed by the nationally known Kansas City engineering firm of Burns & McDonnell, the complex developed in two phases in 1950 and 1955. The massive plant included a generator building, which initially housed two Hydrogen-cooled turbine generators but was designed to expand to five as demand increased; outdoor boilers; an oil heating plant; a demineralization building; and a water intake structure. The buildings reflect the Art Moderne style, with site-cast structural concrete, scored concrete panel cladding, metal divided-light windows and glass blocks. The turbine generator building includes distinctive illuminated Moderne graphics in its signage. The buildings are solid concrete construction, although other power plants built by Burns & McDonnell up to that time had utilized structural steel. On June 2, 1960, the city of Austin posthumously dedicated "Power Plant No. 2" to Walter E. Seaholm (1897-1956), who served the city of Austin for 35 years, including stints as City Manager and Director of Utilities. Seaholm Power Plant remained an active part of the city's power generation system until 1989. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 2007