{"nrhp_refnum":"85000486","name":"Brewster Railroad YMCA/Wandle House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"45 S. Wabash Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brewster","county":"Stark County","state":"OH","lat":40.71288833300008,"lon":-81.59817983599999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-03-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, U-shaped brick railroad YMCA dormitory at 45 South Wabash Avenue in Brewster, Stark County, Ohio, built in 1916 by the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad to house employees on layover.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion A as a representation of the close link between Brewster's development and the 20th-century expansion of the railroads. Brewster was founded and built by the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, and the building is one of its two most prominent railroad structures. It is also one of only a few railroad YMCAs in Ohio built specifically to house employees at a major transfer point, and it served as the town's social and entertainment center.","narrative":"Built in 1916 by the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, this two-story, U-shaped building at 45 South Wabash Avenue in Brewster, Ohio, began as a railroad YMCA. It housed crews on layover at the railroad's central junction and held a restaurant, theater room, meeting rooms, a shooting gallery and a basement bowling alley. A fire in the early 1920s led to the original stucco being replaced with brick, though the porch and two chimneys keep their stucco. Brewster itself was created by the railroad, and the building is one of the town's two most prominent railroad structures. It is also one of only a few railroad YMCAs in Ohio built to house employees at a major transfer point. Operated by three successive railroads until 1975, it then passed to a local historical society in 1976. Today it hosts union and public meetings and community activities, and its significance rests on its tie to the town's railroad history.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1916)","architect_builder":"Bldr: Wheeling & Lake Erie RR","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Closed in 1975 and donated to the historical society in 1976; limited restoration and stabilization is underway, and it is again used for union and public meetings and community activity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.205274-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/85000486.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000486/5dcbf0beee-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000486/5dcbf0beee-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brewster_Railroad_YMCA_(Brewster,_OH).JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanfranman59</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:Brewster_Railroad_YMCA_(Brewster,_OH).JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71991472","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138679919"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/stark-county/brewster-railroad-ymca-wandle-house-85000486/"}