SoWa Power Station

The SoWa Power Station is an iconic Boston masterpiece of its late-industrial period. Built in 1891 as the world’s largest power generation plant, it produced electricity to run the entire West End Street Railway.  Today, the Power Station is used to host a wide range of events from trade shows, fundraisers, art installations and large gatherings alike. Working hand in hand with the zoning attorney, we took this building through ZBA obtaining the rights for a permit use as a “mini” convention center, negating the need for pulling day permits for each event.

On the interior, the 25,000sf, 60-foot high open event space was completely restored with a new architectural exposed aggregate floor, new lighting and ventilation systems, refurnished and reclaimed woods and sandblasted and painted steel trusses. Rounding out the ground floor, a 2,000 sf full service catering kitchen and new multi-stall restrooms were added to support events upwards of 1,500 guests.

Above the kitchen and bathrooms, a 4,000sf event mezzanine with full service bar overlooks the large event space. Above the mezzanine, a large open-concept commercial office space rounds out the top floor, accessible by a new elevator.

On the exterior, new thermal steel windows and entry doors replaced the existing non-thermal openings. Solid wythe masonry walls were repointed and new steel and copper accents were restored. New architectural accent lighting was incorporated around the façade to highlight the buildings beauty and historical presence to the South End.