The Adams power plant followed an 1886 plan by engineer
Thomas Evershed to tap the power of
Niagara Falls, which involved a "hydraulic canal" and a brick-lined tunnel, when the
Niagara Falls Power Company was formed. The
Cataract Construction Company, a new company formed to exploit the opportunity, led by president
Edward Dean Adams, first formed the International Niagara Commission in 1890 to come up with a plan for harnessing the Falls. The Commission favored electricity, but could not recommend a solution to Cataract. AC generators, based on the work of
Nikola Tesla and
Benjamin G. Lamme, while the I. P. Morris Company of Philadelphia built the turbines based on the design of the Swiss company Faesch and Piccard. The Niagara Power Station No. 1, as it was then called, would eventually generate of electricity. There were 10 generator rated of the outside revolving field, vertical shaft type. The generators were separated into two banks of five generators each with independent switchboards. The output was at 2,000 volts to serve in and around Niagara Falls. There were transformers to step up the voltage to 10,000 volts to serve the medium distance around Niagara Falls areas. The voltage was also stepped up to 20,000 to serve the longer distance for
Buffalo,
Lockport, and
Tonawanda. The station was the model for a second similar station built in 1904. The entire plant was officially named after Edward Dean Adams in 1927. The original Westinghouse generators remained in operation until the plant closed in 1961, The building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and was designated a
National Historic Landmark in 1983 and an
IEEE Milestone in 1990. It is located off 15th St., just south of Buffalo Avenue. It is a major contributing feature to the
Niagara Falls National Heritage Area. ==Gallery==