Joyce Estate, Powerhouse, Chippewa National Forest Road 2144, 3 miles north of County Road 335, Grand Rapids, Itasca County, MN

Significance: Completed in 1918, the Powerhouse originally contained electrical generating equipment and switch-gear equipment. According to an account published in 1922, "all buildings and the grounds are electric lighted, Delco system." This system, which combined a gasoline-powered generator and storage batteries, produced sufficient electricity for lighting and small appliances. For refrigeration, however, the estate relied on lake-harvested ice stored in the Ice House until about 1946, when it was tied to the REA power grid, making electric refrigeration possible. At that time, the Powerhouse ceased operation. ... Only the Powerhouse's east wall, a rectangle of concrete painted green, is visible; the rest of the structure is built into a hill. The green wall and adjacent fieldstone and concrete embankments blend unobtrusively into the natural environment.
Survey number: HABS MN-146-Z