Photo Friday: 220KV Oil Circuit Breakers at Redondo Steam Plant, 1948

The first Redondo Beach Steam Power Plant came online in 1907. This $1.25 million power plant was operated until 1933 – it was then taken offline, dismantled, bought/sold, and rebuilt, coming online again in 1948 as a part of Southern California Edison’s power fleet.

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The first Redondo Beach Steam Power Plant came online in 1907. This $1.25 million power plant was operated until 1933 - it was then taken offline, dismantled, bought/sold, and rebuilt, coming online again in 1948 as a part of Southern California Edison's power fleet. This photograph was taken in 1948 and is now a part of the online photography exhibit “Form and Landscape,” a collaborative project from William Deverell and Greg Hise. This exhibit features photos from the Huntington Library’s Southern California Edison archive. These archives document the electrification of the greater Los Angeles area, with photographs taken across California from the late nineteenth century through the 1970s.

Photo Credit: Doug White, 220KV Oil Circuit Breakers at Redondo Steam Plant, 1948. Southern California Edison Collection, courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Collections.

Plugged In has previously featured other photographs from this exhibit – here, here and here.


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H/T to Jen Christiansen, Bill Deverell, Thea Page, and Deborah Miller.

 

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