The Frequency Changing Station in East Central,

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

is a building listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. It was built by the

Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad The Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad Company (S.&I.E.R.R.Co.) was an electrified interurban railway operating in Spokane, Washington and vicinity, extending into northern and central Idaho. The system originated in several predecessor roads be ...

in 1908 to house electrical equipment used by the electric railway. Power was generated at the Nine Mile Falls dam and transmitted to the Frequency Changing Station. The station provided

direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even ...

to the streetcar network within the city of Spokane. To provide power to the rail network outside Spokane, the station converted a portion of the power to

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...

and fed it to a series of

electrical substation A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and ...

s spaced about on the operating line. The substations then converted power back to direct current for the streetcars, but also sold power at 110 volts AC to the communities. The main station housed four motor-generator sets, four 1250

kilowatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

transformers, three 375 kilowatt transformers, and three 75 kilowatt transformers. The east wing of the station contained a 550-volt, 275-cell

storage battery A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or prima ...

. All of this electrical equipment was removed around 1939, when the owning railroad sold the property. The railroad connected the cities of

Colfax, Washington Colfax is the county seat of Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,805 at the 2010 census. The population is estimated at 2,911 per the State of Washington Office of Financial Management in 2018 making Colfax the secon ...

and

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

to Spokane, and the electric railway figured heavily in the rapid development of the area where it passed. In the decades since the railroad sold the property, the building has served multiple purposes. By the 1970s it was being used as storage for a boat dealership. At that time, it was renovated and turned into condominium housing. As of 2012, it is still used as housing.

References

Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Energy infrastructure completed in 1908 Transport infrastructure completed in 1908 Buildings and structures in Spokane, Washington Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Spokane, Washington Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) 1908 establishments in Washington (state) Great Northern Railway (U.S.) {{Washington-NRHP-stub