The Athenaeum of Philadelphia Hosts this free lecture on January 31st, 2008 / 6:00 PM at the Athenaeum (219 South 6th Street Phila Pa).

On the Banks of the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers stand some of the most remarkable industrial structures ever built in the United States. Travelers on Interstat 95 or on Amtrak's eastern corridor may have glimpsed them. Members of an older generation may remember seeing them brilliantly spot lit or glowing from within-vast hulking assemblages that looked vaguely like train stations or factories but failed to coalesce as either.

Designed by architect John Torrey Windrim and engineer William Charles Lawson Englin, they supplied electricty to Philadelphia's main streets, factories, and suburbs in the era of its most rapid expansion. These great plants, once the pride of the Philadelphia Electric Company, represent a singular building type, with an architectural vocabulary that similarly evoked Beaux Arts tradition and cutting edge- modernity.

The Athenaeum is pleased to invite you to Palazzos of Power: the Generating Stations of the Philadelphia Electric Company, a two-part lecture by Aaron V. Wunsch and Joseph E. Elliott. Mr. Wunsch will speak about his research for his upcoming book on these buildings and the unique role they played in Philadelphia's architectural and industrial history. Mr. Elliott will discuss the challenges of photographing these extraordinary but mammoth structures during his documentation of them for the Historic American Buildings Survey. The lecture will be followed by light refreshments and an opportunity to view the Athenaeum's exhibition, Palazzos of Power, which features photographs by Joseph Elliott as well as archival images of the power plants.