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Center City Toledo Walking Tour
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Toledo Traction Company Power Station/Promedica Headquarters

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The Toledo Traction Company Power Station, TTCPS for short was designed by D.H Burnham and Company in a Romanesque Revival Style. The station was constructed in 1895 due to a merger by various Toledo electric utilities companies. The TTCPS was notable for two main reasons, it was the first and only Toledo plant to utilize Edison’s new “three-wire system”. It was also one of the largest power plants in the Midwest, the station powered almost every buildings, residence and streetcar lines. The building was manned by the Chicago based firm of Sargent and Lundy, the station was equipped with boiler rooms that produced electricity for the city. Due to an increase in demand for electricity, the station was given an additional boiler room between 1900 and 1905. In 1907 the station was once again upgraded, adding a new turbine generator unit to the building. A second turbine was installed in 1908 and the company was supplying energy for all of Toledo’s gas, electric and steam utilities. The station was taken over by the Cities Service Company, led by Henry L. Doherty, in 1913. A third turbine was installed was also installed during this time period providing an extra 12,500 kilowatts of power to the station. With the creation of new industrial complexes such as Champion Spark Plug, Willys-Overland Libbey Glass and Toledo Scale the need for electricity in Toledo rose quickly. To meet this demand two more turbines were installed in 1915 and 1916.

Images

The Promedica Headquarters as it stands today

The Promedica Headquarters as it stands today

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The Toledo Traction Company Power Station, TTCPS for short was designed by D.H Burnham and Company in a Romanesque Revival Style. The station was constructed in 1895 due to a merger by various Toledo electric utilities companies. The TTCPS was notable for two main reasons, it was the first and only Toledo plant to utilize Edison’s new “three-wire system”. It was also one of the largest power plants in the Midwest, the station powered almost every buildings, residence and streetcar lines.

                    The building was manned by the Chicago based firm of Sargent and Lundy, the station was equipped with boiler rooms that produced electricity for the city. Due to an increase in demand for electricity, the station was given an additional boiler room between 1900 and 1905. In 1907 the station was once again upgraded, adding a new turbine generator unit to the building. A second turbine was installed in 1908 and the company was supplying energy for all of Toledo’s gas, electric and steam utilities. The station was taken over by Cities Service Company, led by Henry L. Doherty in 1913. Two more turbines were installed in 1915 and 1916 due to an increase in need for industrial power do to new manufactures such as Champion Spark Plugs, Willys-Overland, Libbey Glass and Toledo Scale.

                    In 1929 the station was converted from a steam power plant into a heat supplier. The plant supplied heat for downtown offices, stores, hotels and theaters. The station was still in use up till 1984, when the Company requested the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to retire the plant. Permission was granted and the building ceased function in 1985. After being decommissioned the boilers, turbines and floor structure were removed from the building. This compromised the integrity of the building, forcing the installation of iron steel to stabilize the building. The site sat vacant until 2015 when the company Promedica bought the property as part of their downtown headquarters. In order to keep the building structurally sound the engineers renovating the building had to weave new steel frame throughout the building. The building has since been renovated and Promedica houses their headquarters in the historic building. 

Sources

Wellman , Diana . Toledo Traction Company Power Station . National Register of Historic Places Registration Form . Published May 5th 2003. National Register of Historic Places .

https://www.promedica.org. Accessed December 8th 2019. https://www.promedica.org/pages/about-us/downtownheadquarters.aspx.

Manufacturing: ProMedica Headquarters - Steam Plant, https://www.enr.com. November 21st 2018. Accessed December 8th 2019. https://www.enr.com/articles/45904-manufacturing-promedica-headquarters---steam-plant.

ProMedica Breaks Ground on Downtown Headquarters Project, https://www.promedica.org. Accessed December 8th 2019. https://www.promedica.org/news/promedica-breaks-ground-on-downtown-headquarters-project.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://www.newswise.com/articles/promedica-headquarters-grand-opening