Former power plant on Trinity River awaits its next role
Published on January 06, 2026
Drivers motoring on North Main Street between downtown Fort Worth and the Stockyards barely notice the abandoned behemoth that represents the city’s utility history, now sitting abandoned and awaiting its next role.
The Fort Worth Power and Light Co. power plant sits just north of the Trinity from 100 to 300 N. Main St. at the northernmost end of downtown. Built about 1912, the facility replaced an earlier Fort Worth power plant built in the 1890s.
The landmark building is noted for its Beaux-Arts style. In its early years, smokestacks towering over the plant spit out exhaust and displayed a friendly face familiar to longtime Fort Worth residents – the power-generating company mascot known as Reddy Kilowatt.
The plant was steam-driven, using Trinity River water to generate electricity for homes, downtown buildings and the Stockyards meatpacking plants.
The plant generated power until it was decommissioned in 2004. In September of the next year, the 265-foot-tall smokestacks were demolished.
Today, passersby may notice how years of neglect have damaged the building. Windows are shattered, the roof leaks and interior beams are rusted. Though a chain link fence separates the building and the Trinity Trails that wind around the area, it wouldn’t take much for someone to sneak in.
On the south banks of the river, Tarrant County College District opened its gleaming new Trinity River East Campus in August 2011. The campus is a modern glass and concrete wonder that seems to cling to the hillside while pointing north across the river.
When TCC purchased land for its new campus, the power plant came along with it.
What’s next?
The Fort Worth Power and Light Co. plant is an important piece of the city’s industrial and architectural past.
A report from Panther Island developers says the building has the potential to become an iconic site – maybe a performing arts space, a museum or cool loft-style offices. But questions about the building’s structural integrity, coupled with lack of direct access from nearby streets, make redevelopment a challenge.
The property was appraised at $9.42 million earlier this year.
The nonprofit Historic Fort Worth has asked City officials to nominate the facility as a Historic and Cultural Landmark.
“Historic designation would help to offset the restoration expenses for the power plant, as it adds economic incentives for the restoration of this iconic resource,” Historic Fort Worth officials wrote in a letter to City Council members.
TCC opened bids on the 8-acre property this fall, and more than 45 potential buyers expressed interest. TCC extended the bid period to Dec. 18, 2025, to allow potential purchasers more time to prepare their bids.
Photo: The Fort Worth Power and Light Co. plant fired up in 1912. The smokestacks were demolished in the early 2000s. Photo by Byrd M. Williams, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History.
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