Slideshow

Slide Show: Electric Company

July 14, 2012

Construction on the Bull Run Powerhouse began in 1909 and was completed in 1912.

At its peak, the powerhouse generated 30 MW of electricity, enough to power 12,000 homes in the nearby town of Bull Run.

Photography by Inner Cities

Photography by Store/Designer Site, Getty Images, Chris Hornbecker, Karen Karlsson of Powerhouse Re Gen LLC., Ed Kavishe/Fashion Wire Press, Isaac Hers, and the Daily Mail

After the Marmot Dam was removed and Lake Rosyln was drained in 2008, the powerhouse at Bull Run was marked for historical preservation.

Photography by Jeff Joslin of Powerhouse Re Gen LLC

Historic preservationist Jeff Joslin partnered with local investors to purchase the building along with the drained Lake Rosyln from PGE for $615,000.

Photography by Jeff Joslin of Powerhouse Re Gen LLC

Photography by Store/Designer Site, Chris Hornbecker, McKenna Johnson, and the Daily Mail

Today, abandoned buildings like this are the only remaining evidence that powerhouse once served a thriving community.

Photography by Jeff Joslin of Powerhouse Re Gen LLC

Photography by Randy Gragg, Store/Designer Site, Chris Hornbecker, and the Daily Mail

Photography by Randy Gragg, Store/Designer Site, Chris Hornbecker, Lavenda Memory, and the Daily Mail

Photography by Randy Gragg and the Daily Mail

Old generators stand silent in the powerhouse.

Photography by Randy Gragg

Joslin and his partners hope to convert the site into an interpretive site to help visitors understand Portland’s tightly intertwined natural and industrial histories.

Photography by Randy Gragg

FOR ALMOST A CENTURY, the Bull Run Powerhouse hummed on the Little Sandy River, not far from Portland’s watershed reserve. The power plant, completed in 1912 along the Bull Run tributary, generated up to 30 megawatts, enough to juice about 12,000 homes. But on a recent stroll among concrete walls more than 60 feet...

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