{"nrhp_refnum":"78001154","name":"Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Roundhouse and Locomotive Shop","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Broadway and Spring Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Aurora","county":"Kane County","state":"IL","lat":41.760625719000075,"lon":-88.30870693799275,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A semicircular limestone railroad roundhouse with an attached machine shop at Broadway and Spring Streets in Aurora, Kane County, Illinois, built in 1855-1856 as part of the Aurora Branch Railroad repair shops.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the oldest roundhouse known to the Historic American Engineering Record, ten years older than the previously known oldest example from 1866. It is also the only known stone roundhouse in the nation. Locally, the repair shops employed many Aurora residents and contributed to the city's development.","narrative":"Built in 1855-1856, this limestone roundhouse in Aurora, Illinois, once serviced locomotives for the Aurora Branch Railroad and later the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad. The semicircular structure was originally 22 stalls and measures 264 feet, 4 inches across. Additions before 1865 brought it to 40 stalls. Locally quarried coursed limestone forms the walls, while cast iron columns and trusses support a wood roof covered with tar paper. A limestone machine shop, 50 by 180 feet, is attached on the north side. It was the only survivor of a complex that also held blacksmith, car, carpenter and paint shops. The Historic American Engineering Record identified it as the oldest roundhouse known to it, ten years older than the 1866 Martinsburg example, and as the only known stone roundhouse in the country. The repair shops employed many Aurora residents and shaped the community's growth. Locomotive repair continued until 1927, boiler repair followed, and all work ended in 1974.","period_of_significance":"1855-1856","architect_builder":"C.F. Allen (architect); J.R. Coulter (builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Repair work in the roundhouse ended in 1974. The form lists condition as excellent and the original basic structure as intact, though a section three stalls wide was recently torn into the interior wall. Supporting letters say the owner planned to raze it.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.067309-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/18/8932/28893218/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/78001154.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001154/3fc979868d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001154/3fc979868d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aurora_Roundhouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey.</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aurora_Roundhouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893218","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Brothers_Roundhouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7858865"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/kane-county/chicago-burlington-and-quincy-roundhouse-and-locomotive-shop-78001154/"}