{"nrhp_refnum":"86003141","name":"Metal Shop","other_names":["Aeronautical Lab \"B\""],"category":"building","location":{"address":"102 S. Burrill Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Urbana","county":"Champaign County","state":"IL","lat":40.11185773700004,"lon":-88.22693800099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-11-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story brick building at 102 South Burrill Avenue in Urbana, Illinois, built in 1895 as the Metal Shop for the University of Illinois and designed by Nathan C. Ricker. It is now known as Aeronautical Lab \"B\".","why_significant":"The building is significant for its association with Nathan Ricker as an architect, educator and Dean of the College of Engineering. It is also significant as a modern industrial structure. Its plain, factory-like design reflects the functional and practical side of Ricker's teaching.","narrative":"Built in 1895 on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana, this one-story brick building was first the Metal Shop and is now called Aeronautical Lab \"B\". Nathan C. Ricker, an architect, educator and Dean of the College of Engineering, designed it after the older shop space in the Mechanical Building became too small for the growing number of students. Ricker requested funds for a new facility, and the request was granted. The building measures 30 by 170 feet, with a double T-shaped plan, a hipped roof, common-bond brick walls and a limestone water table. Its design is utilitarian and the only Ricker structure on campus without historical references. Large windows and minimal ornament recall factory buildings of the period. The one decorative feature is the entrance loggia of three intersecting brick arches facing Burrill Avenue. Steel trusses span the full width, allowing machinery to be placed flexibly. The building is valued as an expression of Ricker's practical approach to teaching.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Nathan Clifford Ricker","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.515832-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/43/8907/28890743/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/86003141.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003141/607b2158cb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86003141/607b2158cb-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Aries Liang","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uniwersyte_Illinois_kampus.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Aries Liang</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Uniwersyte_Illinois_kampus.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28890743","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Shop_(Urbana,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20709475"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/champaign-county/metal-shop-86003141/"}