Brockton Edison Electric Illuminating Company Power Station

TheEdison Electric Illuminating Company Power Station is a complex of four adjoining brick buildings, varying in size and ranging in date from 1883 to The complex consists of the original central power generating station (1883) and three subsequent additions (ca. 1884-1886), ca. 1886-1894, and 1907 respectively). The mid-20th century transformer does not contribute to the uildings sgnificance. Located in downtown Brockton, the station complex ccuples a trlangular parcel of land bounded by Montello Street to the east. _incoln Street to the north, and School Street to the south. The apex of the The complex is set directly on the sidewalks; the site is not landscaped. The western tip of the triangular lot is an asphalt paved parking lot.

The station lies in the downtown area of Brockton formerly occupied by several shoe manufacturers. Today the Brockton City Hall (a late 19th century structure) and its park ing lot lie across School Street from the power station. An ear ly 20th centur y bank building and large municipal parking lot lie across Lincoln Street to the north and west of the station. Several 19th century brick factory buildings, formerly engaged in Brockton's active shoe manufacturing industry, lie across Montello Street to the east. Immediately beyond these factory buildings (to the east) are railroad tracks. School and Montello Streets are major thoroughfares in this part of the city, and the site is characterized by heavy vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

The topography in this area is slightly uneven, resulting in a variable grade level for the station: the land slopes up toward the west and south from the corner of Montello and Lincoln Streets, but only to a small degree. The original structure, sited at the corner of Montello and Lincoln Streets, was designed by Frank J. Sprague, chief engineer to Thomas A.

(in one paragraph) Builder/Architect Frank J. Spraque, Engineer The Edison Electric Iluminating Company Power Station, Brockton, is an integral complex of components relating to varying periods of development and Var ying levels of significance. The original station was the first electric generating plant in Massachusetts, and also the first in the United States to use a three-wire, underground transmission and distribution system. It is an ear ly and well-preserved example of late 19th century industrial construction, especially in its use of fireproof materials and open plan. Each of the three additions (ca. 1884-1886, ca.

1886-1894, and 1907 respectively), in turn, is a wel1-preserved example of its type, and was built to accommodate the expansion of the electricity industry of Brockton. A transformer, added to the complex in the mid-20th century, does not contribute to its significance.) The station complex, unique to Brockton both in its heyday and today, retains integrity of location, setting, materials, workmanship, design, feeling and assoclation, and it meets Criter ia A and C of the National Register of Historic Places on both the state and local levels. In 1879, Thomas Alva Edison produced the first incandescent lighting system at Menlo Park, New York. This invention proved the potential for a system of electric lighting powered from a central source.

The world's first commercial incandescent central power station was built in London and opened January 12, Nine months later, the first such station in the United States opened on Pear1 Street in New York City, operated by the Edison Electric Light Company. Pear1 Street Station used a two-wire underground transmission With the help of engineer William S. Andrews and British mathematician John Hopkinson, Edison developed a three-wire system; by adding a neutral wire using only 50% more wire.