Richard L. Hearn Generating Station

Built: 1951, Closed: 1983

Simply, it's a giant-sized power station. Built in 1951, the Richard L. Hearn Generating Station was a coal-fired electrical generating station in Toronto, Canada. The station employed about 600 people and operated for 30 years before being decomissioned in 1983. In the early 1970s it was converted to burn natural gas. While this reduced pollution, it also increased operating costs and reduced the station's efficiency.

The building is huge. The turbine hall alone measures 300 × 45 meters (1000 × 150 feet). It still remains one of the largest places I've had the chance to explore. There were many levels in a maze-like environment with hundreds upon hundreds of stairs. With 2 visits to the station, I still feel I missed many areas.

In recent years the station has been slowly dismantled. It's been used sporadically for a number of movie productions but otherwise, has been empty. Some waterfront revitalization projects have considered the site and there have been recent proposals for it to house a sports facility.

These photos were taken between 2004 and 2006, a period in which the station was undergoing significant dismantling and demolition. Many of the photos contain comments by former employees of the station. These provide considerable context for which I'm quite grateful.

For further history about the Hearn station, a comprehensive account can be found on Wikipedia.
The Richard L. Hearn Generating Station

Selects

Interior Spaces

Control Rooms

Coal Chute, Roof & Exteriors

Miscellaneous Details

The 'B-Roll'

Photos in the “B-Roll” group are (in my opinion) lower-quality images, included for completeness or because they were posted when this site was in its infancy.