{"nrhp_refnum":"98000112","name":"Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Depot","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"225 W. Railroad St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Flora","county":"Clay County","state":"IL","lat":38.667967721000025,"lon":-88.48833422299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-02-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick railroad depot with two-story wings at 225 West Railroad Street in Flora, Clay County, Illinois, built 1916-1917 by local contractor Frank S. Nichols, along with a small Railway Express Agency Building nearby.","why_significant":"The depot symbolizes Flora's importance as a railroad center in the early twentieth century and housed the division management offices of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The railroad was the city's largest employer. The form also notes its distinctive angled, boomerang-like plan and its blend of Italian Renaissance, Romanesque and Classical Revival elements.","narrative":"Flora, Illinois, has a large brick railroad depot at 225 West Railroad Street, built in 1916-1917 by local contractor Frank S. Nichols to replace an earlier frame station. Its plan is unusual: an L-shaped building whose angled center section faces southwest, so that both the Baltimore and Ohio and Illinois Central lines could be watched at once. A three-story central block with a limestone archway and steel skeleton joins two-story wings of reddish brown Flemish bond brick. The design mixes Italian Renaissance, Romanesque and Classical Revival details. Inside, the ground floor held the waiting room, telegraph office and ticket area, while upper floors housed the railroad's division management, including the superintendent, engineer and dispatchers. A small Railway Express Agency Building of similar brick, probably built at the same time, is included. The depot reflects how the railroad, the city's largest employer, shaped Flora's growth. It is now vacant, with openings boarded, though much original fabric survives.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Frank S. Nichols (contractor/builder)","architectural_style":"Late 19th & Early 20th Century American Movements (blend of Italian Renaissance, Romanesque and Classical Revival)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Depot is described as vacant, with most openings covered in plywood to guard against vandalism; much original material remains and the form anticipates restoration.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.704226-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/80/8918/28891880/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/98000112.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000112/91c2a42996-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000112/91c2a42996-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_B%26O_depot_in_Flora.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_B%26O_depot_in_Flora.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891880","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_station_(Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4852956"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/clay-county/baltimore-and-ohio-railroad-depot-98000112/"}