Why Boiler Nine?
Before I resigned from my position at Dell, Austin one of my favorite hangouts was the Boiler Nine Bar & Grill at the historic Seaholm Power Plant at 800 West Cesar Chavez. (In the photo above)
The historical Seaholm Power Plant’s concrete structure’s art deco styling made it an Austin icon since 1949. It was originally built as a coal-powered station, but the coal bins were never used due to fuel oil becoming the standard before construction was completed.
Its five Westinghouse turbine generators powered post-war Austin’s growing population and increased demand for electricity for 46 years. Being a maintenance engineer, its history also fascinated me.
Unfortunately, the bar closed a couple of years ago. However, I’ll always have great memories of the place and I spent some happy times at the rooftop Observatory Bar with friends and family.
So when I moved back to Chicago in early 2020 and decided to start this new site focusing on water heaters, I saw the name was available and it seemed a natural choice. A perfect fit for my old life and the new start.