Brief by Central Staff
Nomeclature – June 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
We’ve never been quite sure of the nomenclature for the performing arts center in Salida, which has recently been remodeled and expanded. Is it the Steam Plant or Steamplant?
In the past, both spellings have appeared in their literature. But the official word now is that it’s the SteamPlant (a formation that is guaranteed to perturb proof-readers and spell-checking software, too).
The building at the corner of Sackett Avenue [nee Front Street] and G Street began its career as an electric-generating plant whose generators were powered by steam that came from coal-fired boilers. So “ElectricPlant” might be more accurate, since the main purpose was to produce electricity, and steam was just one step in the process.
In Denver, there’s a steam loop from one generating plant, where the steam goes through pipes to heat buildings. That would be a “steam plant.” When Salida boasted abundant railroad facilities like roundhouses and shops, there was a central power source for all the requisite steam, and that, too, would qualify as a “steam plant.”
But we don’t know whether the old generating plant ever exported any steam, although it might have piped some to nearby buildings like the Manhattan and Palace hotels. An examination of their heating systems might provide some clues.
At any rate, we’ll try to remember it’s the SteamPlant, and be glad that there was no need to auction the naming rights to produce some awkward locution like Denver’s “Invesco Field at Mile High.”
