Paul's House Diary

The monster chronicled in today’s post is the former Boston Edison Plant along Summer/L Street in Southie. I lovingly refer to it as The Nightmare Factory. I believe at least some part of the beast is still operational and, according to this article from 2013, houses a “distillate fired jet engine that puts out 12 MW” for owner Exelon Corp. It’s got a lot going on aesthetically, as the original Boston Edison structure grew exponentially in phases, specifically with the addition of the large pink structure that currently abuts Summer. It housed (and may still?) the two gas-fired steam engines that were activated in the late 60s. At it’s peak, the whole operation produced roughly 700 MW of natural gas power.

Today, the building scares passersby and deadens the block of streetwall that separates the Seaport from Southie proper. Will it ever be redeveloped? It’s hard to say, since every square inch of real estate within a mile of this spot has developers waiting to pounce. But with the years of unknown contamination beneath the soil of this behemoth (as indicated by the glorious green water pooled within the fenced-off yard facing the cruise terminal), the cost of cleanup may outweigh the payoff that a mixed-use development might bring. Maybe in the next boom cycle.