{"nrhp_refnum":"95000497","name":"Bradford Junction Interlocking Tower","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"501 E. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bradford","county":"Miami County","state":"OH","lat":40.131080937000036,"lon":-84.42458530099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-04-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick railroad interlocking (switching) tower at 501 East Main Street in Bradford, Miami County, Ohio, built in 1918 for the Pennsylvania Railroad during the period of federal railroad control.","why_significant":"The tower is significant under Criterion A for its link to Bradford Junction, a regionally important rail transfer center, and to the improvements made by the United States Railroad Administration during World War I. It is significant under Criterion C as a rare surviving example of a manually operated interlocking tower. It is the only railroad structure left in the town.","narrative":"Built in 1918, this two-story brick tower at 501 East Main Street in Bradford, Ohio, once controlled rail traffic through Bradford Junction on the Pennsylvania Railroad. The building measures about 22 by 18 feet and rises roughly 25 feet. It has Flemish bond brick walls, reinforced concrete floors, a slate hip roof and an unusual interior stairwell with steel pan steps. Inside, the operator's office on the second floor held a row of twenty switching levers and a lighted track diagram. Some original items remain, including an electric panel, glass batteries and steel lockers. The tower was part of a terminal expanded under the United States Railroad Administration during World War I, when nearly two thousand workers were employed there. Rail activity declined after the mid-1920s, and the tower closed in 1983. It is one of only two surviving towers in West Central Ohio and the last railroad structure in Bradford.","period_of_significance":"1918-1944","architect_builder":"Pennsylvania Railroad","architectural_style":"other: Railroad Tower","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Abandoned in 1985 and acquired in 1986; some window sashes were replaced in 1990 and a minor roof leak was patched. Function listed as work in progress.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.046831-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/95000497.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000497/ae461cb4de-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000497/ae461cb4de-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bradford_Junction_Interlocking_Tower_base.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bradford_Junction_Interlocking_Tower_base.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990333","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138589214"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/miami-county/bradford-junction-interlocking-tower-95000497/"}