1929 Lost/ComEd State Line Generating Station

(Satellite, some historical photos are uploaded including the following)

(Update: Kevin Piper posted a history and some photos.)

ComEd posted three images with the comment:

When the State Line Generating Station was completed in 1929, it was the largest power generating station on earth! The 250-foot tall structure, located just across the state border in Hammond, Indiana, was designed by the same architectural firm responsible for the Merchandise Mart, Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum - with input from Thomas Edison himself.

Powered by coal, the State Line Generating Station could not keep up with rising #CleanEnergy standards and was closed for good on March 31st, 2012. Along with some architectural remains, its memory serves as a colossal reminder of our history #PoweringLives in Chicagoland and beyond. #ThrowbackThursday

Brett Wanamaker shared

Fred McInturf: Them 200 MW drum units were the best. Online and full load in like 18 hours. Reliable, cheap, dependable. B&W boilers and pulvs. GE turbines were built hell for stout. Almost unwreckable.

John Long: It was on line continuously from 1929 until 1954 because of the six boiler and three turbine-generator design. The reason it was taken off line was because of a steelworkers strike that shut down the mills and electric demand dropped.

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Wayne Garritano: All that is left is the gate and side shops on the lower right in the photo. On the upper left in the picture is Veteran’s Memorial Park in Hammond with the second largest In flagpole height - American & Indiana flags in the State of Indiana. I walk on this footprint from Calumet Park 3-4 times a week. Reportedly, Tom Edison had an office in the upper level in the iconic gate which still stands.
Terry Murphy: Wayne Garritano Thanks for that information. I still can not believe they tore down the main building. Such a beautiful building that the Hammond Park District should of taken it over and converted the Turbine room to a basketball court with room left over for other sports like football or ice skating or etc. They could of easily converted the office side of the building to apartments or a homeless housing. What a waste to tear down that amazing building with so much history.

Tim Branham

Kevin Greene posted
State Line Generating Plant, Hammond, IN (early 1990s).
RJ Groszewski: My father did a lot of training work with their plant fire brigade. I wish I could've had the opportunity to see inside before it was demolished.
Leo Dostou: RJ Groszewski Your father was lucky to get the local fire department in the plant. When our local fire department heard that we cooled our generators with HYDROGEN, they refused to step in the doors of the plant. We had 2 major fires in our plant and the fire dept. came on site and that was all they did. We had to fight our own fires in the building.
John Kramer: Wow this one was really unique. You can download a a PDF with interiors https://www.asme.org/.../24-state-line-generating-unit-1
Michael Ireland: John Kramer same pannier units as crawford.

 

asme
"1929: World's largest electric-power generator for nearly 25 years, achieving many design firsts"
"Its 208,000 kilowatt rating was 30 percent above the next largest unit at that time."

Rob Olewinski Cmraseye posted
inspired...I miss both of these things....State Line (IN) powerplant   1/31/2009

 

Andrew Urbanski memory
Photo I took in 2009.
StateLine Power IL / IN
Ron Podlas: The first underground connection between power plants was between State Line and Fisk station at 1111 west cermak. It was still in service in the 70's when I worked there. 69,000 volts.

John Long posted six photos with the comment: "State Line Generating Station Hammond IN showing some of the beautiful architecture from when the plant was built in 1929 by Samuel Insull."

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William T Lewis Sr posted
State Line Energy
Hammond Indiana

John DeWit Woodlock II posted
UP 8269 @ Colehour Yard-Hammond,IN 19 NOV 02.

I include the Falstaff Plant and Pennsy's Colehour Yard to provide context for photos that have State Line in the background.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Back when it had six smokestacks.

Rod Sellers posted
[The Falstaff plant is in the background.]

  

Photo by John J. Watkins [NWI Dec 1, 2013]

Photo by John J. Watkins
"The new owner of the shuttered State Line Energy plant in Hammond says he is not planning another industrial use for the lakefront site, but picturing boats, homes and bike paths." [NWI Dec 4, 2013]
[Looking at a satellite image, it is still brown land. At least the Falstaff Plant across the tracks from it has some green.]

Carole Brozovich commented on her posting
[I discovered this is from csu.edu]

Paul Petraitis shared
[From left to right: remnants of the B&OCT bridge, two NYC bridges, one Pennsy bridge, and the Skyway. State Line Generating plant is in the background.]

Global Earth Pro, 8/12/2007

Gail Alkovich posted

Karen Brozynski posted
The photo taken by C. Stricker that I posted the bottom only last week.
[A photo of the State Line Generating Station, the malting plant, and Colehour Yard.]

Marty Gatton shared

Aerial shot of Colehour yard and surrounding area as seen at Southeast Chicago Historical Society...

Unknown photographers or year
Dwain Jerantowski I worked Conrail N S, had to say overtime when they imploded the silos in case debris landed on the tracks.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Marty's share
Karen states the photographer is C. Stricker. There is no Skyway, so it was taken before 1958. In fact, the white label on the photo indicates circa 1940.

Cropped from a photo of Roby Racetrack posted by Rod Sellers.
[There were three racetracks in Northwest Indiana because of a law that a place could gamble only 10 days of the month.]

Rod Sellers posted
Where am I?

Terry Hallaren

I believe the code in the lower left dates the photo to 1926. According to a ComEd history the landfill for the site was 75 acres and the first generating unit began operating in 1929.

Rod commented on his post
Answer: Landfill for State Line Generating Station 1926. See attached article.

Rod commented on his post
Photo of State Line Generating Station August 2009 a few years before its demolition.

Chuck Roth posted
Old switcher used to push coal loads in and out of Com Ed's State Line Station. circa 2010
[Comments indicate people tried to save this SW-1 but ComEd refused to sell it for scrap value.]

Thomas Boswell posted
Switching operations at the former State Line Power coal generating plant, north Hammond, 2012

Patrick McParland posted two photos with the comment:

(former) State Line Generating Plant (built 1926-1929)

Just across the Illinois/Indiana border in Hammond.

The plant was constructed under the guidance of Samuel Insull, former head of Chicago’s Commonwealth Edison, who was also responsible for helping to create the integrated electrical grid for the US as well as creating the Civic Opera House (the Big Chair).

Mr. Insull had his hand in many other interests like the South Shore and South Bend railroad and more.

This coal fired plant stood as a landmark for almost a century and the distinctive stacks could be seen for many miles in all directions.

When you spotted them, you knew that you were almost home.

It was demoed a few years back and has been replaced with a digital facility called Crossroads.

You can often see their gigantic American Flag in all directions.

(pat’s photos)

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Eric Wawrocki commented on Patrick's post

1997 Flickr of tugboats that has the powerhouse in the background

2014 Flickr of partially torn down

In the background of a 1995 Flickr railfan shot (source)

Museum digital artifacts