This is an ode to an older California. Morro Bay is a small, quaint town—"village" might be the better word—on the Central California coast. It is dominated by two features: classic Morro Rock, and the power plant. The Rock is imposing and a beacon to photographers; per the Wiki:
"The 581-foot (177 m)[1] Morro Rock is one of 13 volcanic plugs (remnant necks of extinct volcanoes), lava domes, and sheetlike intrusions between Morro Bay on the north and Islay Hill on the south, all in San Luis Obispo County.[8]
"It is composed mostly of dacite, an igneous, volcanic rock. It is a groundmass of plagioclase, with amphibole (hornblende), biotite, pyroxene (augite), quartz, and glass; it also includes phenocrysts of plagioclase. Its silicon dioxide (SiO2) content ranges from 63 to 69 percent."
Some find the power plant an unwelcome, artificial intrusion into an otherwise lovely natural setting. I suppose it is. But what an intrusion. The plant itself is massive, its mid-century modernism dominating its surroundings, but its three 450-foot smokestacks—almost as tall as Morro Rock—are even more imposing. It is not difficult to imagine it being designed by Howard Roark of Fountainhead. Built in the 1950s, before Morro Bay itself became a city, it was designed by William Gladstone Merchant, an architect who helped design the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. From a local history series on the plant:
“The Morro Bay Power Plant is the single most architecturally defined powerplant in California … an impressive example of international modernism … in the forefront of power production technology for its time. Its design was fashioned after an ancient monumental temple and the exterior was clad with an aluminum skin as an aesthetic upgrade.
"San Luis Obispo County bought the land where the power plant was built from the federal government in 1949. The property was part of the former Navy base in Morro Bay. Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) purchased the property from the County for just under $80,000 in 1951 and began construction of the power plant in 1953. The plant played a significant role in Morro Bay becoming a city in 1964. Townspeople had wanted to be incorporated as a city for many years. But each time it was considered, revenue sources were insufficient to support a full-service city. The taxes and lease fees paid by the power plant provided that revenue, and people living in Morro Bay at the time supported the project enthusiastically.
"Why was it built here? California’s mountain water made hydroelectric dominant in the early days of electricity generation. But droughts cast doubt on hydro’s reliability during the 1940’s, and utilities turned to steam plants powered by oil and gas. These plants required water to cool the turbines. Morro Bay provided the ideal location for oil-fired steam turbines that were cooled by seawater.
"Ironically, Morro Bay never used the electricity that was generated at the plant. It was built to supply electricity for irrigation pumping in the San Joaquin Valley. Eventually, the outfall discharge of 75 degree-water violated environmental regulations and attempts to modernize the plant failed. But Morro Bay benefited directly from the revenue and the jobs the plant generated. Its closure represented a significant economic loss to the City, which has yet to be fully restored."
The plant was decommissioned in 2014, and plans were made to scrap it. But a combination of local opposition to its destruction—a bit of quirky California historical nostalgia—and lack of clarity about what to do with the land have delayed its destruction. When Mary and I learned of it
