Pratt Street Power Plant
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Pratt Street Power Plant
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Power Plant
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| Location | 601 E. Pratt St., Baltimore, Maryland |
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| Coordinates | 39°17′10″N 76°36′27″W / 39.28611°N 76.60750°WCoordinates: 39°17′10″N 76°36′27″W / 39.28611°N 76.60750°W |
| Area | 1.4 acres (0.57 ha) |
| Built | 1900 |
| Architect | Baldwin & Pennington; Et al. |
| NRHP Reference # | 87000564 |
| Added to NRHP | April 9, 1987 |
The Pratt Street Power Plant — also known as the Pier Four Power Plant, The Power Plant, "Pratt Street Toenail", and Pratt Street Station — is a historic former power plant located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It has undergone significant repurposing development since retirement and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
The structure is a 132-by-326-foot (40 by 99 m) complex of three buildings located at Pratt Street and Pier 4 at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The structures are brick with terra cotta trim and steel frame construction. It was built between 1900 and 1909 and is a massive industrial structure with Neo-Classical detailing designed by the noted architectural firm of Baldwin & Pennington. It was one of only 11 buildings in the zone of the Baltimore Fire of 1904 to survive that event.
It served as the main source of power for the United Railways and Electric Company, a consolidation of smaller street railway systems, that influenced the provision of city-wide transportation and opened up suburban areas of Baltimore to power its electric street railway in the city. It later served as a central steam plant for the Consolidated Gas, Electric Light and Power Company, a predecessor of the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company.
The boilers were coal-fired, and the plant's location on the harbor allowed easy delivery of coal by ship. The location also provided access to cooling water for the condensers, with intake on one side of the pier and discharge on the other.
The plant, with by-then obsolete equipment, was used sparingly until it was returned to service to meet the World War II production demand for electricity. Baltimore Gas & Electric finally ceased use of it in 1973.
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