Flavin's Lane Electric Plant - St. John’s, Newfoundland - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

Historical plaque placed by Newfoundland Light and Power Company to mark the location of the first electrical generating plant that provided public electrical service in St. John's. At Flavin Street near Rawlins Cross.

"The earliest electric utility company in Newfoundland was the St. John's Electric Light Company formed in 1885 by A.M. Mackay, the superintendent of the Anglo-American Telegraph Company. That year, the St. John's Electric Light Company build the colony's first generating station for the Terra Nova Bakery, the Flavin Lane Station, which produced enough electricity to operate arc lamps in the windows of Water Street merchants."

SOURCE - (visit link)

"The 1892 fire [in St John's] hastened the transition from gas to electric lighting. Much of the St. John's Gas Light Company's infrastructure in the east end was destroyed. Although the gas works in the west end survived the fire, the destruction of half the town cost the company 60 percent of its business. The St. John's Electric Light Company's generating plant on Flavin's Lane was destroyed, but it was quickly rebuilt at the intersection of Bond and Flavin streets and operational by September 1892. Electricity was available in the burnt area by November. Gas customers, however, had to wait for the streets to be cleared of rubble and new gas mains to be laid, which in some areas took nearly two years. Thus many customers switched to electricity, which soon became the primary light source for buildings and streets. The Gas Company therefore focused on selling gas appliances and fuel for cooking, heating and industry, and operated into the 1960s."

SOURCE - (visit link)

The sign reads -
FLAVIN'S LANE
ELECTRIC PLANT
Electricity for public use was generated for
the first time in Newfoundland on October
17, 1885, when it was supplied to a number
of downtown businesses by the St. John’s
Electric Light Company, a predecessor of
Newfoundland Light & Power Co. Limited.

The electricity was used for arc lighting
and was generated by two dynamos driven
by a steam engine with a coal fired boiler.
This equipment was located in a warehouse
owned by the Terra Nova Biscuit Manufact-
uring Company situated off Flavin's Lane,
near this site. The warehouse and the
equipment were destroyed in the Great |
Fire of July 8, 1892.

Group that erected the marker: Newfoundland Light & Power Co. Limited URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: 20 Queens Rd. St. John's, NL Canada A1C 2A5

Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the marker, preferably including yourself or your GPSr in the photo. A very detailed description of your visit may be substituted for a photo. In any case please provide a description of your visit. A description of only "Visited" or "Saw it while on vacation" by anyone other than the person creating the waymark may be deleted by the waymark owner or the category officers.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   03/14/2019 Bon Echo visited it