Alton Gas & Electric Power House
National Register of Historic Places

Alton Gas & Electric Power House

Alton, Madison County, Illinois
Listed
August 28, 2019
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
100004309

About this property

The Alton Gas & Electric Power House is a former hydroelectric power plant at 700 W. Broadway in Alton, Illinois. Built in 1913–14, the plant was a substation for the hydroelectric power system which had recently been built in Keokuk, Iowa. Alton relied on coal power for its electricity, and the hydroelectric plant helped lower energy costs in the city. The plant went online in 1915 and served as the city's primary power plant until 1928, when a series of mergers and reorganizations resulted in the Union Electric Company, which had also bought the Keokuk hydroelectric plant, purchasing the plant from Alton Gas & Electric. After 1928, the station only served as an emergency backup for Union Electric's other substations, and it closed for good in 1937. The building has since been used for machining operations and briefly served as an automobile dealership. The plant Abbott Machine Company has owned it since 1950. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 28, 2019.

Location

700 W. Broadway
Alton, Madison County, Illinois
38.89446, -90.19599

Categories

INDUSTRY
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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Nearby Historic Sites

Christian Hill Historic District
Listed
0.2 mi
Alton Chapter House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Hotel Stratford
Industrial
0.6 mi
Post House
Industrial
0.8 mi
Guertler House
Industrial
0.8 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of the Sink Hole
1815Early Republic
2.8 mi
Mund Site Mass Burial – Illinois River
1100Pre-Columbian
5.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Alton Gas & Electric Power House listed on the National Register?

Alton Gas & Electric Power House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 28, 2019.

What type of historic resource is Alton Gas & Electric Power House?

Alton Gas & Electric Power House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Alton Gas & Electric Power House?

The period of significance for Alton Gas & Electric Power House is recorded as the industrial era.

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