Update: The power plant was demolished by the end of 2012. See more photographs of the?later in the summer here, and photographs of its interior during demolition.
I’ve been fascinated by the demolition of the Venice Power Plant, which I’ve covered before in the past.
Unlike a lot of demolitions, which start with the clearing of the interior, the demolition here is proceeding from front to back, revealing the still intact interior spaces before they’re torn down.
I know nothing about power plants, other than they burn coal, creating steam that powers a generator; perhaps what those giant funnels do is pour coal down into the boilers.
There are four of them, and there were once four smokestacks, so I presume that is what they are.
There is a whole complex of other outbuildings, which I presume will be torn down as well.
If you or anyone you know worked in this plant, I would love to hear from you.
My Grandpa worked there have a pick from December 31, 1954 of the whole group…
Shari, I would love to see that photograph! Please e-mail me at naffziger (at) gmail (dot) com.
A little random, but I seem to have found some tongs in a toolbox I bought years ago that say:
Good Health – Good luck – Good Cheer
Venice Power Plant Employees
Union Electric 1954
and when I googled it brought me here to this article. Honestly I think they are just old salad tongs.
Love the photos, thank you for preserving the beauty of these brick edifices built to stand forever.
Venice Power Plants I and II are noted in ‘Combustion Engineering’, pages 9-52 and 9-53, the 1957 edition.
The book, published by the company of same name, features a line drawing of one of the multi-story steam generators and its appurtenances such as economizer, fans, and Ljungstrom regenerative air preheater.
The boiler depicted was installed in 1942 to power a forty megawatt generator. It produced three 365,000 pounds of steam per hour at 885 pounds of pressure at 915 degrees Fahrenheit.
Venice Plant I had a 25 and 35 megawatt generator, decommissioned as noted in the 1979 edition of “Inventory of Power Plants in the United States.”
The Venice II units were all said to be operational in the same book, all having been converted from coal to oil and/or gas.
Venice II built in ’42 had six generators. Units 1 &2 were 40 megawatts. Units 3, 4, and 5 were 98 megawatts, and Unit 6 was 100 megawatts.
Units 1 thru 4 were built during the WW II years, while 5 and 6 were installed in 1950, typical of the stages of development of electric power production.
Very much enjoy your site, which came right up when searching the Venice Power Plant.
Please feel free to message me anytime on Facebook if you wish. Always enjoy chatting about these technological marvels.
Thank you for preserving this important chapter of scientific history as well as architectural splendor.
Paul Vincent Zecchino
Manasota Key, Florida
13 October, 2023
I love stories like these!
Hi,
I’m Claude Allen. My father, Lawrence Allen, worked at the Venice Power Plant from the late 1940s until his death from a heart attack there in May 1968. Lawrence was a furnace mechanic. He had stories about the coal shuts and bins, and moving the coal with locomotives. Following his death my family was shown the area where he died: inside an air ventilation shaft. However, I mostly have viewed the plant from a distance when driving by. Thanks for the pictures and memories of this important part of St Louis’s past.