America's abandoned power plants are the most architecturally monumental category of industrial ruin — turbine halls the size of cathedrals, cooling towers 500 feet high visible from 20 miles away and control rooms frozen at the moment the last shift ended. Here are the 5 best abandoned power plants in the USA, selected from our Abandoned Places Map USA — 5,000+ GPS locations across the United States.
1. Charlestown Power Plant – 1900s Boston, Massachusetts — Art Deco Generating Station on Boston Harbor, Original Turbine Hall Still Intact, Partial Renovation Ongoing (Known Location)
The Charlestown Power Plant — formally the New England Power Company's Mystic Station — is one of the most architecturally distinctive industrial buildings in New England: a massive Art Deco generating station on Boston Harbor with a 660-foot smokestack visible across the city skyline. The original turbine hall with its cathedral-scale interior, ornate brickwork and the Harbor waterfront setting made it a landmark even in operation. Sections remain in various states of abandonment and partial renovation alongside the repurposed portions, the turbine hall retaining its extraordinary scale. One of the most architecturally significant abandoned power plants in the USA.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Mystic Generating Station
2. Murphy Power Plant – 1903 Chicago, Illinois — First Coal-Fired Power Plant in Chicago, Turbine Hall Now an Events Space, Brick Stack Still Standing on the Chicago River (Known Location)
One of Chicago's earliest large-scale coal-fired power plants, the Murphy (Fisk) Generating Station on the Chicago River powered the city's electrification from 1903 through 2012 — 109 years of continuous energy production. The distinctive twin smokestacks and the massive brick turbine hall are Chicago River landmarks visible from dozens of vantage points across the city. After closure, the building attracted artists and event organizers; portions have been repurposed while the industrial shell remains largely intact. One of the most historically significant and most visually powerful abandoned power plants in the USA.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in the USA →
3. Navajo Generating Station – 1974 Page, Arizona — Largest Coal Plant in the American West, Three 775-Foot Cooling Stacks Visible from the Grand Canyon, Closed 2019 (Known Location)
The Navajo Generating Station near Page, Arizona was the largest coal-fired power plant in the American West — three 775-foot smokestacks visible from the Grand Canyon's south rim on clear days, generating 2,250 megawatts of electricity for the Colorado River basin. Closed in 2019 under environmental pressure after 45 years of operation. The plant site on Navajo Nation land is being assessed for remediation; the three massive stacks and the turbine hall infrastructure still stand above the Arizona desert. One of the most dramatically scaled abandoned power plants in the USA. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
4. Abandoned 1950s Coal-Fired Power Station – Twin 400-Foot Brick Stacks Still Standing, Turbine Hall with Overhead Crane Frozen in Place, Appalachian Coal Country (Exclusively on Our Map)
A 1950s coal-fired generating station in Appalachian coal country — twin 400-foot brick stacks still dominating the river valley skyline, the turbine hall with its original overhead crane system frozen in its last position and the coal handling infrastructure along the river bank. Appalachian power plants of this era fueled the post-WWII American industrial expansion; their closures since the 2000s under environmental regulations left an extraordinary concentration of abandoned generating infrastructure across the region. One of the best abandoned power plants in the USA for coal era industrial scale photography. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
5. Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant – 1970s Partially Constructed Reactor Facility, Containment Dome Still Standing in the American South, Construction Abandoned After Three Mile Island (Exclusively on Our Map)
A nuclear power plant begun in the 1970s and abandoned mid-construction after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 collapsed public and political support for new US nuclear installations. The containment dome, reactor building foundations and partially constructed support structures still stand in a Southern state, the concrete aging in the subtropical climate for over four decades. Several partially built US nuclear plants were abandoned in the 1970s-1980s at extraordinary financial cost; this site is one of the most intact surviving examples of mid-construction nuclear abandonment. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
Safety Tips
- Asbestos and PCBs: all pre-1980 power plants contain extensive asbestos insulation and electrical PCB contamination — always wear an FFP2 mask and never touch electrical equipment
- Structural scale: power plant turbine halls have extreme overhead hazards — always wear a hard hat and never stand under deteriorating overhead equipment or crane systems
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person
❓ FAQ
What is the most famous abandoned power plant in the USA?
The Murphy (Fisk) Generating Station on the Chicago River — one of Chicago's oldest coal-fired power plants, operational from 1903 to 2012. The twin smokestacks and massive brick turbine hall are among the most distinctive industrial landmarks on the Chicago River, visible from dozens of vantage points across the city.
What happened to the Navajo Generating Station?
The largest coal-fired power plant in the American West — three 775-foot stacks visible from the Grand Canyon's south rim — closed in 2019 under environmental pressure after 45 years of operation. The plant site on Navajo Nation land is being assessed for remediation. The stacks and turbine hall infrastructure still stand above the Arizona desert near Page.
Why did so many US nuclear power plants get abandoned mid-construction?
The Three Mile Island accident in March 1979 collapsed public support for nuclear power in America almost overnight. Multiple plants under construction at the time were cancelled; the sunk construction costs — some in the billions — were simply written off. The partially completed structures were left in place, creating a unique category of abandoned infrastructure unique to the post-TMI era.
🎯 Summary
America's abandoned power plants range from an Art Deco Boston Harbor generating station to three 775-foot stacks visible from the Grand Canyon and a nuclear containment dome abandoned mid-construction after Three Mile Island. Each of these 5 abandoned power plants in the USA captures a different chapter of American energy history — and the moment the power went out for good.
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