The Moran Plant

The Moran Plant is a retired coal power plant sitting on the north end of the City of Burlington’s Lake Champlain waterfront. The facility produced electricity for the city from 1954 until 1986 when it was decommissioned. Since then, the plant has sat idle and abandoned in its extraordinary location waiting to be reinvented.

In the Spring of 2014, as the result of a year-long community planning process and project competition, a group of activists founded New Moran Inc (NMI), a non-profit corporation dedicated to redeveloping the Moran Plant as an important piece of Vermont's history and future year-round hub for cultural activity. The plans include a dynamic black-box performance and community events space, as well as ground floor food and artisan hall. To learn more and support the project visit: MoranPlant.org

In the name of building awareness and excitement around the project's potential, New Moran has collaborated with local organizations and artists - spanning multiple creative outlets, including musical performances, artists in residence, storytelling, performance and dance, and a community-made mural. 

Local photographer, Dan Cardon, was one of the very first artists to work in support of the non-profit team, with the specific goal of documenting, in medium format film photography, the singular patterns, textures, and patinas scattered throughout the building's incredible interior. This photo-essay is the result of that project. - Erick Crockenberg