Richmond Power Station, Oddys Lane, Richmond C.1892
It was built in 1891 for the privately-owned ‘New Australian Lighting and Traction Company,' and was one of Australia's first power stations to supply alternating current power. It generated electricity for the nearby CBD and for surrounding suburbs Prahran, Richmond and South Yarra. It was taken over by the government-owned State Electricity Commission in 1929 and operated until 1976, when pollution concerns forced its closure. Originally the building had two chimney stacks, although these were soon demolished at closure. Notable decorative features on the building include the finely articulated western facade with its ‘campanile tower, and vast glazed arched openings in the east end of the boiler house and turbine hall.
The power station, and the surrounding massive plot of land, then sat fenced off and unused for nearly twenty years. When the Kennett Government privatised Victoria's electricity supply in the early 1990's, SEC assets, including this site, were sold for redevelopment. The site is on the Victorian Heritage Register.