Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Freight House

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Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Freight House
BURLINGTON, CEDAR RAPIDS, AND NORTHERN FREIGHT HOUSE.jpg
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LocationFront and High Sts.
Burlington, Iowa
Coordinates 40°48′50″N91°05′56″W / 40.81389°N 91.09889°W / 40.81389; -91.09889 Coordinates: 40°48′50″N91°05′56″W / 40.81389°N 91.09889°W / 40.81389; -91.09889
Arealess than one acre
Built1898
NRHP reference No. 83000351 [1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 27, 1983

The Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Freight House, also known as the Rock Island Freight House, is a historic building located in Burlington, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

The freight house was built by the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad (BCR&N) in 1898. It replaced a smaller brick freight house that had been built in 1873. The freight house is the only remaining structure from the BCR&N left in Burlington, and the only Victorian structure remaining on the riverfront. [2] The railroad's shops had been located further north in an area called "The Bottoms." Its original passenger depot was located in a commercial building that was located at Jefferson and Front Streets. It moved into the CB&Q's Union Depot further south along the riverfront where the Amtrak station is now[ when? ] located. The BCR&N, with passenger and freight service between Minneapolis and St. Louis was considered the most important north-south rail line in Iowa. [2] In 1903 the railroad was acquired by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, and the freight house served that line. After the Rock Island Line went out of business the building sat empty until it was converted into a restaurant. The structure had to be restored after floods in 1993 and 2008 inundated it. [3]

The freight house is a two-story brick structure with a single-story wing on the north side. Freight from the trains passed through the seven bays on the east side, while freight from wagons, and later trucks, passed through the seven bays on the west side. Freight from riverboats on the Mississippi River was also transferred onto trains at this facility. [2]

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WCF & N Center Point Depot and Substation United States historic place

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Ijem Avenue Commercial Historic District United States historic place

The Ijem Avenue Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in Nichols, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. It is composed of 12 one and two-story commercial buildings that date from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. It also includes one modern infill building. Nichols is a small town in western Muscatine County and was an important railroad shipping point and market town from about 1885 to about 1920. It was located along the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway, which came to town in 1871, and the Muscatine and Western Railroad, which arrived two years later. The two railroads intersected on the west side of the central business district, and both were incorporated into the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad in the 1880s. The brick commercial buildings in the historic district were built during this period of time. They are attached one and two-story brick structures. The oldest buildings reflect the Italianate style with their arched windows, while the later buildings reflect the Neolassical and Commercial styles.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 James E. Jacobsen. "Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Freight House". National Park Service . Retrieved 2015-11-30. with photo(s)
  3. "About/History". Big Muddy's. Retrieved 2015-11-30.