Boiler House
The Boiler House was built to house three Babcock and Wilcock 13,100 pounds-per-hour steam boilers that operated from 1952 until they were removed in the early 1990s. Through several expansions, the building eventually became the Central Energy Plant.
University Hospital originally operated with heat in the winter and open windows during the summer. Some cooling was provided through a wooden cooling tower but air conditioning was not added until 1967 with several chillers, including a 2,500-ton model that was removed in 2005.
A cooling tower would catch fire in the early 1980s, with a witness saying “you could see the fire all the way across campus and everyone wondered what was burning, but the next day there was no doubt as air conditioning was lost.” Repairs were minor and cooling was restored shortly. The plant would be expanded in 1960, 1968 and 1994.