{"nrhp_refnum":"07000363","name":"Richmond Locomotive and Machine Works","other_names":["American Locomotive Company, Richmond Works","127-6188"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1331 North Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.56784200750005,"lon":-77.46641835689988,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-04-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Industry"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Industrial complex at the corner of North Boulevard and Leigh Street in Richmond, Virginia, made up of an Iron Foundry (in use by 1887, expanded in 1917) and a Brass Foundry (built 1922) that belonged to the Richmond Locomotive & Machine Works and later the American Locomotive Company.","why_significant":"The plant was the largest and most significant locomotive manufacturer in Virginia and the only locomotive plant built in Richmond, with a documented 682 locomotives shipped to railroads across America and abroad. It is also one of few surviving large-scale buildings from the steam locomotive industry, which were usually demolished or converted after use.","narrative":"Two industrial buildings at North Boulevard and Leigh Street in Richmond preserve the legacy of a locomotive builder that grew out of Tredegar Iron Works. The larger Iron Foundry, in use by 1887 and joined into a single building of about 480 feet in 1917, has a steel frame, brick walls and overhead crane rails. The smaller Brass Foundry, built in 1922 of reclaimed brick with steel trusses made by the owner, retains its stepped gables and truss system. Under the Richmond Locomotive & Machine Works and, after 1901, the American Locomotive Company, the operation turned out 682 documented locomotives that served major American railroads and lines in Canada, Sweden, Finland, Manchuria, Japan and New Zealand. Richmond-built engines included the first Mountain-type locomotives, and Southern Railway No. 1401 is displayed at the Smithsonian. The plant made specialty parts until 1949. Few buildings of this kind survive, because their size made reuse difficult. One later recycling center on the site does not contribute.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1887 - 1949","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The site remained in use until late 2006, most recently as a specialty steel fabrication plant. A rail spur still brings trains to the Richmond Science Museum for special events.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.904798-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/6830/41683079/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/07000363.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000363/5b94a71027-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000363/5b94a71027-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"JCWilmore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Movieland_Richmond.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JCWilmore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Movieland_Richmond.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683079","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Locomotive_and_Machine_Works","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16899288"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/richmond-locomotive-and-machine-works-07000363/"}