artwork > Richmond Power Plant

Richmond Station is one of three early power plants built by the Philadelphia Electric Power Company in the early 20th century. It once housed the world’s largest Westinghouse turbo-generator, and its Neo-classical architecture was meant to symbolize that the city had entered an age of electricity. The plant closed in 1985, but its most recent claim to fame was serving as the prison site in the Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis movie Twelve Monkeys. It was denied historical designation by the Philadelphia Historical Commission, against the recommendation of its own staff and the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.