3 minute read
From Power Plant to Public Service Hub
THE EVOLUTION OF THE GEORGETOWN LIGHT AND WATER WORKS PLANT
For more than a century, the Georgetown Light and Water Works building has served the community in various roles — as a water and electricity plant, and police station. Today, it provides vintage space for multiple city departments.
The city built the plant in 1911 at the corner of 9th Street and Martin Luther King Drive. At that time it used coal-powered steam engines to generate electricity and pump water from groundwater wells. After the city signed a power purchase agreement with the Lower Colorado River Authority, the Light and Water Works building evolved to meet a different need — public safety.
A SAFER GEORGETOWN
Formed in 1948, the Georgetown Police Department operated in the Light and Water Works building from 1986 to 2015.
Larry Hesser, who served as police chief in the 1990s, remembers how one of the historic structure’s unique features, a smokestack, was preserved during renovations and re-purposed for officers to interact in a workspace around the smokestack. Another element designed to improve safety was bulletproof glass in the lobby – later removed and replaced with increased security – that made it difficult for the police team to connect with citizens. “We were trying to build as many positive relationships within the police department and the community,” Larry says.
The police department has since achieved that goal, thanks also to Barbara Pearce and Barbara Brightwell, two community leaders who helped the department with youth crime prevention programs and connections with minority communities.
“I remember being an outsider to Georgetown and Texas, and it was a bit difficult to get [those initiatives] going. I think our relationship with [both Barbaras] opened doors for the police department into the community,” Larry says.
The City Center project aims to move the focus beyond the downtown and is set to become Georgetown’s next community gathering place.
BEYOND DOWNTOWN
The police department’s growth triggered a move to the new Public Safety Operations and Training Center in 2015, so the historic building became home to the city’s Main Street Program and Planning, Economic Development, Housing, and Public Communications departments. “I love how that building has been re-purposed over the years,” Mayor Josh Schroeder says. “From power and light to the police to the planning department, it has evolved along with our community, and its iconic look and versatility embody our City’s commitment to honor our past and innovate for the future.”
The structure is also part of the Georgetown City Center project slated to break ground in May, which will feature a public plaza and event space between the library, City Hall, Municipal Court, and Light and Water Works building. Citizens will be able to enjoy unique art and water features inspired by the Light and Water Works building and its smokestack, as well as open green space with a stage, food truck area, and children’s play area.
