{"nrhp_refnum":"04000163","name":"Brandon Road Lock and Dam Historic District","other_names":["Lock &amp","Dam 3"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"1100 Brandon Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Joliet","county":"Will County","state":"IL","lat":41.50689726900006,"lon":-88.09543898721711,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-03-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Maritime History","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of five contributing resources (lock, dam, junction lock, Brandon Road bridge and control station) on the Des Plaines River at 1100 Brandon Road, Joliet, Illinois. The State of Illinois built it from 1927 to 1933 as part of the Illinois Waterway.","why_significant":"The district is significant under Criterion A for its role in the maritime, transportation and industrial history of the Illinois Waterway. It is significant under Criterion C as a good representative example of Army Corps of Engineers-approved lock and dam construction of the period. It also keeps water levels steady between Lockport and Joliet and retains a high degree of integrity.","narrative":"Brandon Road Lock and Dam, on the Des Plaines River at the south end of Joliet, Illinois, is a navigation complex built by the State of Illinois between 1927 and 1933. The district includes a lock with a 110-by-600-foot chamber and a 34-foot lift, a 2,372-foot concrete and earth dam, a junction lock that once gave barges access to the Illinois and Michigan Canal, a drawbridge, and a brick control station with Jacobethan-style gables. Walter Mickle Smith, Chief Design Engineer for the Illinois Waterway project, is considered the designer. The facility opened in 1933 as part of the slackwater system linking Chicago with the Mississippi River. It was listed for its part in the waterway's transportation and industrial history and as a representative example of Army Corps of Engineers-approved lock and dam construction. It still operates and keeps water levels steady between Lockport and Joliet. Its 1933 electric headgate hoists are noted as a rare surviving type.","period_of_significance":"1927-1951","architect_builder":"Smith, Walter Mickle","architectural_style":"Other: lock and dam; No Style: control station","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still an operating lock and dam facility; the junction lock is no longer operable. Alterations such as resurfaced walls, replaced machinery and a new roof on the control station are described as typical for an operating facility.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.571285-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/90/8914/28891490/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/04000163.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000163/ff14f92b6b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000163/ff14f92b6b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Bwheelerrtrm","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brandon_Road_Lock_and_Dam_Historic_District_2012-09-29_11-40-19.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bwheelerrtrm</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brandon_Road_Lock_and_Dam_Historic_District_2012-09-29_11-40-19.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891490","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Road_Lock_and_Dam","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4957039"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/will-county/brandon-road-lock-and-dam-historic-district-04000163/"}