Wilbur Chocolate Factory Power Plant

location

funding

project description

The commercial building at 226-30 North Second Street stands as a reminder of the necessity of constructing owner supplied power sources, up to the early 20th century, as was needed for production at Philadelphia’s once famed Wilbur Chocolate Factory. This simple brick power plant with its protruding smoke stack and its already rehabilitated accompanying Chocolate Factory building can continue to stand as a reminder of Old City’s once thriving commercial and industrial past. 

Since the Wilbur Chocolate Power Plant building contributes to Old City’s once thriving commercial and industrial past, the new owners of the Power Plant were able to benefit from Historic Preservation Tax Credits.  Power Plant Productions hired Campbell Thomas & Co. as a Preservation Consultant to assist with the Historic Preservation Certification Application.

The exterior of this three-story brick1920’s industrial architecture power plant is a good example of early 20^th century industrial architecture. The interior is open space with exposed steel columns.  These columns are composed of individual members bolted together.  There is one center wall running North/South up through the building that divides the open space in half on each floor.  The original smokestack runs up from the basement through all three floors on the east side of the center north/south-dividing wall.  The second floor and three fourths of the third floor retain the original wide plank pine wood floors.  All remaining floors are concrete.

           After Rehabilitation