The Power House was built in 1913 during the construction of the Animal House, now McClintock Laboratory. The purpose of the building was to provide facilities support to the structures of the Station for Experimental Evolution which included the Main Building (Carnegie Library), aviaries, and greenhouses in addition to the future Animal House. It was set into the hill on the lower roadway facing the Harbor just north of the Animal House and was constructed of concrete and hollow tile with a stucco exterior. Serving as a central heating plant, it housed a boiler room, coal bunker, electric generator, and circulating pumps, as well as a forge shop and carpenter shop.