OLD ENCINA POWER STATION CHIMNEY PRESERVATION
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Please visit our allies at People For Ponto to comment on your support for saving, transforming, and having your voice heard on the future of the stack, that as of now, is to be demolished without the citizens decision.

They support open space at the threatened Ponto site, but also at Encina and the Strawberry Fields. The Encina open space could use the smokestack as a renewed and repurposed focal point of Carlsbad's iconic personality. 

Follow the link below if you would like to submit a response:


How to Help

Other Great Options for Citizens of Carlsbad:
1) Request that the Historical Preservation Commission (contact Suzanne Smithson at 760-434-2876 or suzanne.smithsone@carlsbadca.gov), under Title 22, safeguard the city's historic heritage, perpetuate our historic resources and advise the City Council to allow the Encina Power Plant Chimney to remain standing after the demolition of the Power Plant building. 
  • When successful: fly a large American flag from the chimney for the time being, and perhaps well into the future as the amazing possibilities for the chimney materialize. 

The Historical Preservation Commission's regular meetings are held the second Monday of each odd numbered month at 6 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber, 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive.
  • 2020 Regular Meeting Calendar.
  • Receive meeting agendas by email.

2) Request that the Carlsbad Arts Commission, (contact Richard Schultz at 760-602-2086 or richard.schultz@carlsbadca.gov) embrace the most visible piece of architecture in Carlsbad, safeguard the city’s historic heritage and works of art and recommend the City Council to allow the Encina Power Plant Chimney to remain standing after the demolition of the Power Plant building, until the redevelopment approvals for the property are finalized. (See duties of the Arts Commission below).
  • Again raising an American flag above the tower as a sign of victory and symbol of the perseverance that the chimney has represented since its development decades ago. 

The Arts Commission's regular meetings are held  on the first Thursday of every month at 9 a.m. at the City Council Chamber located at 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive.
  • Receive meeting agendas by email.

Important Duties of the Arts Commission:

Advises the City Council on the implementation of the arts element of the Carlsbad General Plan. Duties include,
but are not limited to:
  • Encouraging individuals and organizations that provide an educational experience in the arts for the citizens
  • Providing direction and support for continued development and presentation of a variety of arts in the city
  • Providing a forum for arts concerns and recommendations to the elected officials and their staff concerning arts issues
  • Reviewing and making recommendations upon all works of art to be acquired by the city, either by commission, purchase, gift or otherwise, and their proposed locations
Source: Carlsbad Municipal Code, Chapter 2.18
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​Effort to preserve coastal smokestack gets cold shoulder from commission
By Phil Diehl   Sept. 10, 2019

Some residents have argued that the smokestack should be saved, perhaps as part of a park, because of its unique appearance on the Southern California coast and as a representation of the power plant’s significant contributions to Carlsbad.

The plant helped provide a solid economic base and tax revenue for the city’s formation in 1954. Also, the utility company dredged the adjacent Agua Hedionda Lagoon every year or two to keep it wide and deep enough to supply water for the plant’s cooling system. As a result, the lagoon is the only one in the county used for aquaculture, boating and other commercial and recreational purposes.

Some commission members were sympathetic to the preservation idea, noting that the power plant is historically significant. Pilots and sailors use it as a navigational aid, and for many residents it’s a sign of home.

“I look for it, and I would miss it if it were gone,” said Commissioner Anne Estes.

But the property is owned by NRG and the utility opposes any historical designation. NRG has stated that the company has a contractual obligation to demolish the stack.

As a result, the five-member commission voted unanimously to take no action on the proposal.

Forever Carlsbad.
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"Even though I am not a Californian, I hope the Carlsbad CA, smokestack stays, for it is an iconic historical landmark, for Carlsbad CA, and it can be seen from sea, land, and air. It is also a testimony to the past, of the hard work, that past generations built, in American architecture heritage. We cannot lose old architecture heritage, for future unborn generations, need to see, what America has built, in the past, whether it be cars, houses, that smokestack, and so on. As a West Texan, who proudly lives in Carlsbad, Texas, our smokestack (which is a smaller smokestack, leveling out at 110 to 130 ft) has been in place, since the 1920s at the San Angelo State Supported Living Center, mental health facility, in Carlsbad, Texas. Our stack is an icon, and when I see our smokestack from Hwy 87, or from the sky, I know home is close by, and that is a good feeling. Keep fighting for your/our American architecture heritage."
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Sincerely/Respectfully, JD

Carlsbad, Texas
  • Home
  • A Storied History
    • Historical Landmark Status
  • Worldwide Chimney Preservation
    • Tate Modern
    • The Toffee Factory
    • Haffenreffer Chimney Restoration
    • Chemintz Smokestack
    • Spartanburg Mills
    • Tulip Tower, Mt. Vernon
    • The Forks
    • Turku Power Station
  • Endless Possibilities
  • How To Help
  • Share Your Thoughts For the Future: Our Blog