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The Past, Present, and Future
of the Powerhouse

From Innovation and Long Service to Abandonment and Rebirth

UPDATE: The Durango Discovery Museum celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2008. While it started out as a children's museum, it has evolved into an interactive science and energy museum for all ages and will be expanding its reach (from 15,000 to 30,000+ projected visitors in the fall of 2010) once it moves to a new location--the Powerhouse (oldest standing coal-fired, steam-generated AC current power plant in the country).

The museum's mission is to ignite curiosity, spark imagination, and power exploration. Our vision: to become a leading science and educational center in the Four Corners that brings together curious minds of all ages, inspires innovative learning, and unleashes human potential.

In pursuit of this mission and vision, the museum has developed Sudden Science, an educational outreach program for rural underrepresented early learners, as well as primary and secondary age students. Every year we reach more youth during and after school through science clubs, summer camps (Camp Discovery), and the new Solar Roller--our mobile science energy + discovery lab.

It is a story of rivalry and risk, of enterprise and innovation. How did the smelting town of Durango become the home of one of the earliest alternating current steam plants in the world? How did this once-handsome 1893 power plant become an abandoned and blighted brownfield on precious downtown riverfront property, a community eyesore? And what, after all, will become of it?

Early Western Innovation

In 1892, the Durango Light and Power Company embraced a fledgling technology known as AC power, the object of both marvel and derision. Outlawed as too dangerous in some Eastern states, our founders' investment soon became the standard for powering the world. They installed this new technology in a building, which was designed using Mission-Style architecture,the first known use of this style on a commercial building outside of California. Once built, the plant provided AC power for street lights before AC was available in the great cities of the East.

 

Long Service to the People of Western Colorado

The plant provided power to Durango through its early development. It soon became part of the Western Colorado power grid. Reflecting the West's changing emphasis on raw energy sources, it was converted from coal fired to gas fired in the mid-1940s. Its size and adaptability made it useful long after other early power generating plants had been torn down and replaced. It became part of Western Colorado Power, which provided electricity to Colorado's Western Slope.

Shut Down and Unused

The Powerhouse was shut down in the mid-1970's. The building was boarded up and the site, which sits on the banks of the Animas River became a community eyesore. It was eventually acquired by the City of Durango. The city was unable to find a use for the building and considered tearing it down. Finding a viable use for the building was compounded by the daunting and expensive need to remove asbestos--not to mention the decades of pigeon droppings! The Durango Powerhouse was listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places and became one of Colorado Preservation, Inc.'s Most Endangered Places.

Rescuing the Powerhouse

The Children's Museum of Durango, founded in 1994, has outgrown its 1,100 square foot attic facility. Needing space to serve older visitors and accommodate yearly growth, the museum prepared a comprehensive business plan, which proposed converting the Powerhouse and its site to an interactive science museum. In 2002, the Durango City Council passed a resolution supporting the rebirth of the Powerhouse as the Durango Discovery Museum.

Restoration of the Powerhouse

The Children's Museum of Durango established the Durango Discovery Museum as a project managed by a separate board while it continues to operate in its cramped quarters. Since 2002, Durango Discovery Museum volunteers have obtained grants for historical renovation, asbestos removal, and site cleanup from the State of Colorado. The cleanup, renovation and restoration of the exterior of the building are complete, and the building now stands ready for its transformation into the Durango Discovery Museum.

Riverfront Revitalization

Imagine a riverfront park alive with children climbing outdoor exhibits, adults sipping espresso, and friends bicycling in to share a picnic lunch. A musician strums a banjo, and children frolic amidst outdoor interactive exibits. In the evening, pedestrians stroll beneath Victorian street lamps shimmering along the river. It's a beautiful way to wrap up a day in downtown Durango. The plan ties Main Avenue to the riverfront and establishes the museum as an anchor for downtown, attracting tourists and locals alike.

Inspiring Invention and Discovery

The old Powerhouse prompts us to examine the role of power in our present lives and asks, as it did more than a century ago: "Are you ready for the future?" Visitors will experiment with the foundation sciences that make electrical power generation possible, learn about locally mined energy products, operate hydrogen powered race cars, and explore building techniques that result in low utility bills without sacrificing comfort or convenience.

 

A Sustainable Future

The Durango Discovery Museum is a LEED registered project. LEED principles ensure the building's construction and operation meet high standards for energy efficiency and environmental stewardship.

An Urgent Need

Saving the Powerhouse, inspiring inventiveness and discovery, demonstrating a sustainable future, and revitalizing the riverfront are all within reach with your help. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a unique, playful, intellectually challenging, and socially relevant major new museum. Add your energy right now!