While doing some spring cleaning around here I stumbled across a collection of drawings I did of the Quincy Stamp Mill Turbine Building. This building was built in 1921, to supply electric power to the Quincy Mills. Housed inside was a 2000 kw General Electric steam turbine, powered by the exhaust steam from the mill’s stamps. Today the building is in rough shape, thanks mostly to the beating it took from scrappers removing the turbine from inside (taking out almost its entire east face in the process). You can check out my original three-part exploration of the building here: PART 1, PART 2, PART 3. While writing those posts I drew up these detailed illustrations, but for some reason never used them. So today I figured I’d finally post them.

Here’s a look at the front facade – technically the east face. This side featured the building’s main door through which workers would most likely enter the building. Two large pipes entered the building on its south side – as can be seen here. I assume that one is the steam feed from the stamps, while the other one is the exhaust steam? The building was built out of concrete to save money, but they still managed to throw in some brick accents to make it a little more interesting.

Here’s the south face, where those large pipes entered the building. There was also a third pipe entering/exiting the building through the first window on the right. No idea what that was for either. An interesting thing about this building – and most industrial buildings of this time period – was the amount of windows. There must have been plenty of light flowing in there during the day.

The buildings north face features a large door on the north-west corner of the building. Inside, the floor above this door is open to allow materials to be brought up to the turbine floor. I assume this was a loading door, probably used to deliver parts and supplies to the turbine.

Here is the back of the building – technically the west face. This side of the building butts right up against a steep hill supporting the Q&TL trestle – so windows would have done no good. They simply left them out of the building except for at the very top. Behind this wall was the electrical hookups that delivered the electricity to the mills. A line of electrical nodes would have been attached to the building here. Also present is a large double door – which is still attached today. Not sure what it was used for – since there’s a good three foot lip along its bottom. Yet another pipe exit/entrance pierces the wall near the doors. No idea for this one either.

Here’s a cut-a-way view inside the building. Although apparently three stories tall on the outside, the building only has two “floors”. The first floor is taken up primarily with support structures for the turbine, which sits up above here. The second floor houses the turbine itself along with any auxiliary equipment and controls it required. This floor was two stores in height – I assume to help dissipate heat from the machinery. That or the turbine was two stories tall – which is a possibility. But most turbines I have seen lay on their sides like I have illustrated here.