National Register of Historic Places

Powerhouse, The

San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California
Listed
July 29, 1993
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
93000670

About this property

The Powerhouse is a historic building located on the California Polytechnic State University campus in San Luis Obispo, California. Built from 1909 to 1910, it is the oldest building still standing at Cal Poly. The design of the building was long mis-attributed to William H. Weeks, who had designed the original Cal Poly power house at the northern end of campus. However, the architectural plans for the 1909 building were created by the State of California Department of Engineering, under State Engineer Nat Ellery. The building is designed in the Mission Revival style. The building originally served as a power plant run by students and two full-time supervisors, and held Mechanics and Electrical Engineering classes. The Powerhouse stopped generating power in the 1940s and was replaced and abandoned in 1955. In 1967, the building found a new use when the school's College of Architecture and Environmental Design decided to hold classes there. The college continued to hold classes in the building even after the construction of a new architecture building, and only stopped in 1990 when the school's administration ordered the building to be abandoned. The Powerhouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 30, 1993.

Location

San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California
35.29907, -120.66346

Categories

INDUSTRYENGINEERINGEDUCATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Nearby Historic Sites

Monday Club of San Luis Obispo
Industrial
1 mi
Ah Louis Store
Industrial
1.1 mi
William Shipsey House
Industrial
1.2 mi
San Luis Obispo Carnegie Library
Industrial
1.3 mi
Jack, Robert, House
Industrial
1.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Powerhouse, The listed on the National Register?

Powerhouse, The was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 29, 1993.

What type of historic resource is Powerhouse, The?

Powerhouse, The is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Powerhouse, The?

The period of significance for Powerhouse, The is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Powerhouse, The?

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