{"nrhp_refnum":"81000210","name":"Stone Arch Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Springfield Ave. and 2nd St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Champaign","county":"Champaign County","state":"IL","lat":40.112738629000035,"lon":-88.23728005399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-05-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone arch bridge at the northwest corner of Springfield Avenue and 2nd Street in Champaign, Illinois, built around 1860 over Boneyard Creek for a railroad linking Urbana and West Urbana (now Champaign).","why_significant":"The bridge carried the rail connection that gave Urbana access to trains in West Urbana, which the nomination says may have helped save Urbana as county seat. It is described as probably the only bridge to span Boneyard Creek at this spot and unique among Champaign County bridges. It is also one of the oldest structures in the county.","narrative":"Built of hand-cut, random stripped Silurian dolomite with a greenish tinge, this small stone arch bridge crosses Boneyard Creek at Springfield Avenue and 2nd Street in Champaign. It has a span of about seven and a half feet and was originally 18 feet wide. Many stones on the north side have fallen, cutting the width roughly in half, and the fallen stones are stockpiled for restoration. The bridge was probably finished in 1860 as part of a railroad grade linking Urbana with West Urbana, now Champaign. Rails were not laid until later, and the first run came on August 31, 1863. The line gave Urbana farmers a way to reach trains and ship produce, and a local judge credited it with helping defeat efforts to move the county seat. The railroad segment was abandoned and rerouted in 1890. The nomination describes the bridge as likely unique in Champaign County and one of its oldest structures. It is owned by the Champaign Park District.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Mr. Jaques, Billy Park - Contractor; for west part, John G. Brown, Peter Collins","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair and unaltered. Many stones on the north side have fallen, narrowing the width by about half; the fallen stones are stockpiled for restoration. Owned by the Champaign Park District.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.498344-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/32/8918/28891832/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/81000210.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000210/af7928654e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/81000210/af7928654e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel S. Johnson; cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 09:10, 5 November 2013 (UTC)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2012-09-19-champaign-stone-arch-bridge-019-1_crop.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel S. Johnson; cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 09:10, 5 November 2013 (UTC)</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:2012-09-19-champaign-stone-arch-bridge-019-1_crop.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891832","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Arch_Bridge_(Champaign,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7618856"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/champaign-county/stone-arch-bridge-81000210/"}