Lockport Powerhouse

Last updated

Lockport Lock, Dam and Power House Historic District
Lockport1.jpg
Lockport Dam, Lock and Powerhouse
USA Illinois location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Lockport Powerhouse
Interactive map showing the location of Lockport Powerhouse
Nearest city Lockport Township, near Lockport, Illinois
Coordinates 41°34′10″N88°04′44″W / 41.56944°N 88.07889°W / 41.56944; -88.07889
Area44.2 acres (17.9 ha)
Built1910
Built byJoseph J. Duffy, Lorimer & Gallacher Co (original lock)
Green & Sons co (Navigation lock)
Schmidt Brothers Construction Co (control station)
ArchitectFrederick L. Barrett (power house)
EngineerIsham Randolph (original lock)
Walter M. Smith (control station), Illinois state engineers (Navigation lock)
M.G. Barnes, Walter M. Smith, R.S. Heath, Fred Hendershot (Lockport)
Architectural styleRenaissance
MPS Illinois Waterway Navigation System Facilities MPS
NRHP reference No. 04000167 [1]
Added to NRHPMarch 10, 2004

The Lockport Powerhouse is an American run-of-the-river dam used by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to control the outflow of the Sanitary and Ship Canal and limit the diversion of water from Lake Michigan into the Des Plaines River.

Contents

History

The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal reached Lockport, Illinois in the 1890s. As part of this construction, a lock and dam was built in Lockport. Seven waste gates, used to control the level of water in the canal and Des Plaines River, were part of this project. [2] From 1903 to 1907, the canal was extended from Lockport to Joliet. Construction on the Lockport Powerhouse began as part of this extension in 1905. Designed by Frederick L. Barrett, the red-roofed Beaux Arts powerhouse was constructed with concrete blocks coursed to resemble stone. The powerhouse featured four Francis-style turbines to generate electrical power, capable of generating 40,000 horsepower (30,000 kW). These turbines have since been replaced with two vertical Kaplan turbines. The powerhouse was also the home of the waste gate controls. The lock and gates were designed to manage a 40-foot (12 m) drop in canal elevation between the two municipalities. [3]

A second phase of construction occurred from 1922 to 1933 to handle differing water loads following the opening of the Ohio River Standard Navigation Lock. First operational in 1907, the powerhouse is now recognized as the oldest hydroelectric plant in Illinois. [4] The Lockport Lock, Dam and Power House Historic District was recognized by the National Park Service with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places on March 10, 2004. [1]

The lock next to the dam & powerhouse is largely used for barge traffic and has a 39 foot (11.8 meters) drop. It is the second of eight locks on the Illinois Waterway connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois and Michigan Canal</span> Canal system in Illinois (1848–1933)

The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran 96 miles (154 km) from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Portage, and helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, before the railroad era. It was opened in 1848. Its function was partially replaced by the wider and deeper Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1900, and it ceased transportation operations with the completion of the Illinois Waterway in 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonneville Dam</span> Dam on the Columbia River, United States

Bonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located 40 miles (64 km) east of Portland, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. The primary functions of Bonneville Lock and Dam are electrical power generation and river navigation. The dam was built and is managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. At the time of its construction in the 1930s it was the largest water impoundment project of its type in the nation, able to withstand flooding on an unprecedented scale. Electrical power generated at Bonneville is distributed by the Bonneville Power Administration. Bonneville Dam is named for Army Capt. Benjamin Bonneville, an early explorer credited with charting much of the Oregon Trail. The Bonneville Dam Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1987.

The Gatun Dam is an earthen dam across the Chagres River in Panama, near the town of Gatun. The dam, constructed between 1907 and 1913, is a crucial element of the Panama Canal; it impounds the artificial Gatun Lake, which carries ships 33 kilometres (21 mi) of their transit across the Isthmus of Panama. In addition, a hydro-electric generating station at the dam generates electricity which is used to operate the locks and other equipment in the canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal</span> Canal system connecting the Chicago and Des Plaines rivers in Illinois

The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, historically known as the Chicago Drainage Canal, is a 28-mile-long (45 km) canal system that connects the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River. It reverses the direction of the Main Stem and the South Branch of the Chicago River, which now flows out of Lake Michigan rather than into it. The related Calumet-Saganashkee Channel does the same for the Calumet River a short distance to the south, joining the Chicago canal about halfway along its route to the Des Plaines. The two provide the only navigation for ships between the Great Lakes Waterway and the Mississippi River system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Chelan Dam</span> Dam in Chelan, Washington

Lake Chelan Dam officially known as the Lake Chelan Hydroelectric Project is located approximately 32 miles (51 km) north of the city of Wenatchee in Chelan County. The dam is located at the lower or southeasterly end of 50.4 miles long Lake Chelan, and is within the limits of the city of Chelan. The powerhouse is located near the community of Chelan Falls. The reservoir has 677,400 acre-feet (835,600,000 m3) of usable water storage. The 10-year average generation for the Project is 365,000 megawatt hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago</span> Special-purpose district in Chicago, IL, USA

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), originally known as the Sanitary District of Chicago, is a special-purpose district chartered to operate in Cook County, Illinois since 1889. Although its name may imply otherwise, it is not a part of the City of Chicago's local government but is created by Illinois state government with an elected Board of Commissioners. The MWRD's main purposes are the reclamation and treatment of wastewater and flood water abatement in Cook County to protect the health and safety of citizens and of area waterways. In 1900, the District notably reversed the flow of the Chicago River, and it is currently involved in the large multi-decade construction of the "Deep Tunnel," Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park</span> United States historic place

Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park is a historical site preserving an 1895 alternating current (AC) hydroelectric power station—one of the first in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lock and Dam No. 19</span> Dam in Illinois / Keokuk, Iowa

Lock and Dam No. 19 is a lock and dam located on the Upper Mississippi River near Keokuk, Iowa. In 1978, the Keokuk Lock and Dam was listed in the National Register of Historic Places, #78001234. In 2004, the facility was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as Lock and Dam No. 19 Historic District, #04000179 covering 1,605 acres (650 ha), 7 buildings, 12 structures, 1 object. The lock is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dam is owned and operated by Ameren Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croton Dam (Michigan)</span> Dam in Newaygo County, Michigan

Croton Dam is an earth-filled embankment dam and powerplant complex on the Muskegon River in Croton Township, Newaygo County, Michigan. It was built in 1907 under the direction of William D. Fargo by the Grand Rapids - Muskegon Power Company, a predecessor of Consumers Energy. The 40-foot-high (12 m) dam impounds 7.2 billion U.S. gallons (6 billion imp. gal/27 billion L) of water in its 1,209-acre (489 ha) reservoir and is capable of producing 8,850 kilowatts at peak outflow. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brilliant Dam</span> Dam in Central Kootenay, British Columbia, Canada

Brilliant Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Kootenay River near Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada. It was built during the Second World War, mostly by Doukhobour men exempt from military service, and its 129 MW twin turbines first came into operation in June, 1944. The Columbia Power Corporation purchased the dam from Teck Cominco in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardy Dam</span> Dam in Newaygo County, Michigan

Hardy Dam is an earth-filled embankment dam and powerplant complex on the Muskegon River in Big Prairie Township, Newaygo County, Michigan. At the time of its completion, it was the largest earthen dam in North America east of the Mississippi. Its impoundment forms a lake with over 50 miles of shoreline. The dam impounds a reservoir with a surface area of 4,000 acres and its power plant has an installed capacity of 31.5 MW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maraetai Power Station</span> Dam in near Mangakino, Waikato

Maraetai Power Station is a hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the fifth of the eight hydroelectric power stations on the Waikato River, and at 360 MW, is the largest hydroelectric station on the Waikato.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Road Lock and Dam</span> United States historic place

The Brandon Road Lock and Dam is a lock and dam complex along the Des Plaines River in Joliet, Illinois. The complex was built from 1927 to 1933 in conjunction with the construction of the Illinois Waterway, which allowed for barge travel between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. The lock and dam are also used to regulate water levels on the river between Lockport and Joliet. The lock at the complex is 110 by 600 feet and has four Miter gates, with a 34-foot drop. The dam is 2,372 feet (723 m) long and includes concrete and earthen segments. The complex also includes a disused junction lock for the Illinois and Michigan Canal, the control station for the lock, and a modern pump house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockport Historic District</span> Historic district in Illinois, United States

The Lockport Historic District, also known as the Canal and Downtown Area, is a set of fifty-nine buildings in Lockport, Illinois. Of these, fifty-six contribute to the historical integrity of the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starved Rock Lock and Dam</span> Dam in Illinois, United States

Starved Rock Lock and Dam, also known as Lock and Dam No. 6, is a lock and dam facility managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers along the Illinois River, near Starved Rock. It is part of the Illinois Waterway and was constructed between 1926 and 1933. The lock and dam was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Starved Rock Lock and Dam Historic District in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooke Dam</span> Dam in Iosco County, Michigan

Cooke Dam is a hydro-electric dam on the Au Sable River in Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 as the Cooke Hydroelectric Plant.

Walter Mickle Smith, Sr. was a civil engineer who worked primarily on U.S. dams and waterway projects. He was a consulting engineer on the construction of the Panama Canal and Panama Canal Locks and later served as design engineer for the New York Board of Water Supply. He spent much of his career with the State of Illinois waterways division and was its chief engineer until his retirement in 1937. Several of his works built in the 1920s and 1930s as part of the Illinois Waterway project are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including portions of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, the Dresden Island Lock and Dam, the Lockport Lock and Power House, and the Marseilles Lock and Dam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper North Fork Feather River Project</span>

The Upper North Fork Feather River Project is a hydroelectric scheme in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Lassen and Plumas Counties. The project consists of three dams, five power plants, and multiple conduits and tunnels in the headwaters of the North Fork Feather River, a major tributary of the Feather—Sacramento River systems. The total installed capacity is 362.3 megawatts (MW), producing an annual average of 1,171.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). The project is also contracted for the delivery of irrigation water between March 31 and October 31 of each year. The project is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Area Waterway System</span> Complex of natural and artificial waterways in Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) is a complex of natural and artificial waterways extending through much of the Chicago metropolitan area, covering approximately 87 miles altogether. It straddles the Chicago Portage and is the sole navigable inland link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River and makes up the northern end of the Illinois Waterway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mio Dam</span> Dam in Oscoda County, Michigan

Mio Dam is a hydro-electric dam located on the Au Sable River in Michigan capable of generating 4.96 MW of electric power. It was the 4th of 6 dams built by Consumers Power between 1906 and 1924 along the Au Sable River and is the furthest upstream of the six. The dam was completed in 1916. The Mio Hydroelectric Plant consists of an embankment on each side connected by a spillway. Located North of the spillway is the powerhouse and outdoor substation. Public access to Mio Pond is provided via a boat ramp maintained by Consumers Energy, and portage facilities are also provided allowing canoes and kayaks access to bypass the dam. Portage the dam on the right using the cement stairs then carry down a gravel road with a canoe slide on the down river side of the dam. The Mio Dam powerhouse continues to operate with the same turbines and generators that were installed over a century ago.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Belden 2012, p. 92.
  3. Belden 2012, p. 99.
  4. Belden 2012, p. 109–110.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Lockport Lock and Dam at Wikimedia Commons