One of the Govalle facility’s blower buildings in 2014. Photo by Larry D. Moore / Wikimedia Commons
The federal agencies of the New Deal brought some classic examples of Depression-era public works architecture to Austin in the 1930s, much of which embodies the forever-popular Art Deco styles known as Streamline Moderne and PWA Moderne. Though most of these buildings still stand in the city today, one shining local example remains decidedly under the radar, likely due to its presence away from the public eye — the Govalle Wastewater Treatment Plant, built on the banks of the Colorado River with federal funding from the Public Works Administration in 1937.
Decommissioned after 69 years of operations in 2006, the plant at the time of its opening was considered one of the most cutting-edge sewage facilities in the nation, the first in Austin to use the activated sludge process for wastewater — now considered the most common processing method in the developed world.
A photo of the original 1937 Govalle sewage processing facility taken in 1942, with the lab/office building on the left and the blower building on the right. Image: Architectural Record / BNP Media
Along with its open-air wastewater tanks, the East Austin plant originally contained two buildings — an office/laboratory facility and a “blower” structure containing the machinery necessary to aerate the sludge. Compared with the typical appearance of wastewater facilities, the design of the Govalle plant was considered notable enough to merit a profile in the May 1942 issue of Architectural Record magazine:
A municipal sewage treatment plant involves highly specialized technical processes with which relatively few building designers are familiar. As a result, all too frequently the structures that are built to house these facilities have little to recommend them except insofar as they keep out the weather. In the case of the Austin plant, however, exceptional study has been made of the needs which these structures are designed to serve; and vital, functional architectural forms have arisen.
— Architectural Record, May 1942
The Govalle plant’s original blower building, photographed in 1942. Image: Architectural Record / BNP Media
Another 1942 view of the plant’s original blower building and one of its treatment ponds. Image: Architectural Record / BNP Media
The original 1937 lab/office building at the Govalle plant, also photographed in 1942. Image: Architectural Record / BNP Media
More than just a pretty face, the facility also handled the city’s sewage needs quite well, reportedly processing 3.5 million gallons a day when it opened in 1937. The Austin American-Statesman sang the plant’s praises and explained its operations in detail shortly after it opened, if you’re interested in that sort of thing:
Image: Austin History Center
So appreciated were the site’s various Art Deco stylings that the exterior appearance of the original structures was painstakingly replicated in the construction of additional blower buildings during expansions to the plant in the 1950s — and these newer structures look so similar to the originals that most contemporary accounts of the plant fail to notice their later addition.
An aerial view of the facility as it appears today, with its structures labeled. Click for a larger view. Image: Bing Maps
There are now three blower structures at the site, all considered to be in good condition by a survey of historic resources the City of Austin assembled back in 2012 — the survey also notes the plant’s original lab building received a 1980s addition that diminished its original look somewhat, but there’s still tons of character here.
(No idea where they’re getting that 1933 date in the Facebook post above — the PWA grant to build this thing didn’t even arrive until 1934. But just look at that entrance!)
On the left is a 2012 photo of the original 1937 blower building at the Govalle facility, with the middle and right images showing the two structures built in the 1950s. Click for a larger view. Images: City of Austin / Casey Gallagher
After shutting down for good in 2006, the facility is now used as a training center for Austin Water employees and other city staff, meaning us regular folks aren’t getting a close-up look at these New Deal municipal masterpieces — it’s not Area 51 or anything, but strolling in with a camera might still be frowned upon. It’s especially sad we’re not able to get a better view of the gorgeous interiors of the blower buildings:
an infrequently used room used for training at a water treatment facility in Austin, TX. All it needs is Owen Wilson saying, “wow.” from r/AccidentalWesAnderson
But it seems some of the city employees training here still appreciate the architecture, if you click through some of the shots in the Facebook album below:
Back in 2013, a group of students in the UT School of Architecture’s historic preservation program came up with an adaptive reuse plan for the site as part of their studio class, which would transform the facility’s underground tanks and some of its original buildings into a public space — sure, it’s just a school project, but it’s still nice to see some other people notice these buildings are way more attractive than a sewage facility has any business looking. Art Deco’s just never going out of style.
A view of an imagined future for the Govalle plant adapted into public space. Image: Bronwyn Hunt
A close-up view of a blower building at the Govalle facility. Image: Bronwyn Hunt
Along with a few appearances on screen, the facility popped up back in 2018 as a potential — but seemingly not fully considered — site for the MLS stadium now under construction at McKalla Place. That ship’s obviously sailed, but wouldn’t it be nice to turn this living history museum of Depression-era public works architecture into something for the community? Maybe once we knock out the Seaholm Waterfront, we could turn our eyes eastward and design a new future for these magnificent buildings.
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