Heating a City

Heating a City. Beech Street Steam Plant. The Beech Street Steam Plant was a classic example of the industrial boom in Akron. The plant originally had a two-boiler system with one smokestack, and it forced steam through pipes to downtown Akron. Steam heat was an advanced technology at the time because it conserved fuel, produced less smoke pollution and caused fewer factory fires., As Akron's population grew, so did the plant, adding four boilers and two more smokestacks. The plant hit its peak in the 1950s, servicing such businesses as the O'Neil's and Polsky's department stores. All that remains of the Beech Street Steam Plant is the eastern foundation wall in front of you, preserved as part of Cascade Locks Park., Transportation Nation , The tracks found next to the foundation wall belonged to the Valley Railroad. The railroad's close proximity allowed easy unloading of coal straight into the plant. Originally, the tracks. continued into downtown Akron, but the Innerbelt (SR 59) later cut the lines short., Parts and Pieces , Inside the plant there was constant movement. Coal scoops or buckets, like those on display. would be filled, and then a conveyor would carry the buckets to dump fuel into boilers, known as stokers.