ASCE Los Angeles Section

Bakersfield, California

The City of Bakersfield‘s Mill House is the iconic structure for the greater Mill Creek Linear Park, an ASCE Region 9 2012 Award recipient. Located in the heart of the City at 17th Street between “R” and “S” Streets, The Mill House serves as a gentle reminder of days past when a Flour Mill was operating in this same area. The Mill House is reminiscent of the 1890’s when life’s pace was a little slower and other types of power sources were prevalent.

The Mill House is a wood framed structure totaling only 1000 square feet between both floors. While small, The Mill House makes a large statement, being nearly 30 feet tall and situated on the centerline of 17th Street where it is viewable from points blocks away east and west. The exterior retains the late 1800’s theme utilizing river rock veneer, ship lap poplar wood siding, wrought iron railing, and a standing seam metal roof. The interior of The Mill House is also thematically finished with wainscot, stained wood and black wrought iron. Open timber trusses frame the vaulted ceiling. A special glassed closet allows viewing of the gear box and generator which receives rotational power input from the water wheel.

The water wheel was incorporated not only as a visual feature but also provides the ability to generate electrical power. The source of power is water in the Kern Island Canal as it falls over a weir at this location. The 12 foot diameter water wheel is a Poncelet design in which the water flows and drives the wheel on its bottom quarter. The mechanical power is converted to electric using an alternator system with an inverter.

The Mill House is available to the public for special events through the City’s Recreation and Parks Department.

The Mill House project is unique. It serves special purposes providing a point of interest for the public to better understand our history, showcases an alternative power supply, and also offers an attractant for the public drawing residents and visitors to explore and enjoy Mill Creek Linear Park. Keeping these purposes foremost, special attention was given to the architecture of The Mill House as well as the functional power system for the water wheel.

Architectural details for The Mill House were selected with the purpose of emulating the late 1800’s. This influenced the design as deep as the wood frame structure itself. Structural design was steered to utilizing timber trusses and beams to enhance the visual space of the interior and supporting the steep pitches of the roof. The open plan also required focus on shear-wall support compliant with the California Building Code.

The water wheel power system was designed to be fully functional. A hybrid of an old fashioned water wheel and new inverted power systems was invented. A metal wheel was utilized over a wood wheel for durability and efficiency. A special radial gate design controls the flow and power delivered to the wheel. The radial gate design is unique to this project and is a design enhancement to the standard Poncelet wheel providing a significant increase in efficiency. The water wheel is connected to a 49.5:1 ratio gear box that runs in reverse to increase the 16 rpm input power to a viable rpm for the permanent magnet alternator (PMA). The PMA spins at about 2500 rpm after another increase in speed using a geared drive belt. The PMA charges a battery bank which feeds a power inverter and controller typically used for solar power.

The Mill House was successfully completed in early July of 2013.

The mill house is the most recognizable feature of the multi-phase Mill Creek Linear Park and anchors redevelopment in the eastern half of downtown Bakersfield. The completed structure appears in many photographs issued by the City, Chamber of Commerce, and citizens in general.

Completed construction cost of the project was less than $1 million.

For outstanding engineering in a small public works project.

The City of Bakersfield‘s Mill House is the iconic structure for the greater Mill Creek Linear Park, an ASCE Region 9 2012 Award recipient. Located in the heart of the City at 17th Street between “R” and “S” Streets, The Mill House serves as a gentle reminder of days past when a Flour Mill was operating in this same area. The Mill House is reminiscent of the 1890’s when life’s pace was a little slower and other types of power sources were prevalent.

The Mill House is a wood framed structure totaling only 1000 square feet between both floors. While small, The Mill House makes a large statement, being nearly 30 feet tall and situated on the centerline of 17th Street where it is viewable from points blocks away east and west. The exterior retains the late 1800’s theme utilizing river rock veneer, ship lap poplar wood siding, wrought iron railing, and a standing seam metal roof. The interior of The Mill House is also thematically finished with wainscot, stained wood and black wrought iron. Open timber trusses frame the vaulted ceiling. A special glassed closet allows viewing of the gear box and generator which receives rotational power input from the water wheel.

The water wheel was incorporated not only as a visual feature but also provides the ability to generate electrical power. The source of power is water in the Kern Island Canal as it falls over a weir at this location. The 12 foot diameter water wheel is a Poncelet design in which the water flows and drives the wheel on its bottom quarter. The mechanical power is converted to electric using an alternator system with an inverter.