The Beloit Power Plant is located on the east bank of the Rock River just north of Beloit’s traditional downtown, and west of the Beloit College campus. The Beloit Power Plant is composed of the Powerhouse and the Crusher House. The Powerhouse is the main building, and was erected in seven stages. The original section is the northern half of the two-story red brick section, built ca. 1907. This section was expanded southward in 1913, and again in 1917 and in 1920. The three-story, red brick section has a concrete roof, and was added to the north end of the original section in 1925. The section that is finished with cream brick, also known as the Blackhawk Generating Station addition, was built in two phases, the first erected 1945-46, and the second 1948-1949. Designed by the Chicago engineering firm, Sargent & Lundy, this addition varies in height from three to five stories, and rests on a rusticated raised concrete basement. It is of steel-reinforced concrete construction. The Crusher House is a tiny, flat-roofed building finished with cream brick. It stands north of the Powerhouse and was erected in 1946.

The Beloit Power Plant is significant for its design. The Powerhouse displays the transformation of coal-fired power plants from the early- to the mid-twentieth century. Early coal-fired, steam turbine powerhouses had the appearance of a brick factory, with machinery fitted into the building. The red brick sections of the Powerhouse reflect this era. The coal-fired, steam-powered Powerhouse began operation ca. 1907 with a 500-kilowatt turbine. It was gradually expanded as larger and more complex turbines and boilers were installed in response to technological advancements and increasing demand for electricity through the mid-1920s. The Blackhawk Generating Station addition was constructed 1945-1949 to address pent-up demand and fuel the post-World War II boom in construction and industrial development, and it represents mid-century coal-fired, steam-powered plant design. Beginning in the 1940s, function dictated the form of the coal-fired powerhouse. Two rectangular blocks, the turbine block and the taller, boiler block, distinguish mid-century powerhouses. The Powerhouse generated electricity until 2005, and closed in 2010.

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