Monroe Shops
Why it's listed
Monroe Shops is a large industrial building in Dallas that once handled heavy repairs for electric interurban rail cars. Completed in its first phase in 1914, it served the Texas Traction Company and the Southern Traction Company, which merged in 1917 to form the Texas Electric Railway. The load-bearing brick building has three bays covering 255 by 138 feet. The two-story western bay housed paint and carpenter shops, offices, and a lecture hall. The central bay was the machine shop, with a crane, a maintenance pit, and Warren and Pratt roof trusses that survive. A one-story paint shop was added on the east around 1920. Its water tower, substation, and other support structures have been demolished. Windows, doors, and roofing have been replaced in many places, and a mezzanine was inserted in the 1990s. The building now stands beside a DART station, so the site continues in transportation use, and the property is recognized for its role in the region's interurban rail history.
Significance in brief: The building served as the site of all heavy repair work on the cars of the Texas Electric Railway, the interurban system formed by merger in 1917. It was used extensively by the railway, including re-lettering cars and converting passenger cars into parlor cars. The main building survives intact while the original ancillary structures were demolished, and the site remains a transportation facility.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 07000130, listed March 7, 2007. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2111 S. Corinth St., Dallas |
|---|---|
| County | Dallas County |
| Listed | March 7, 2007 |
| Reference number | 07000130 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | No style (industrial/utilitarian) |
| Areas of significance | Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Currently listed as vacant; the site sits within a DART park-and-ride facility and the building has been rehabilitated with later alterations, including a mezzanine added in the mid- to late-1990s. |
| Acreage | 1.3 |
| Coordinates | 32.72433, -96.80455 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 07000130.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110002652
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.