By Tom Farrens, AIA
The Roundhouse & Railyards in Evanston, Wyoming, the conference site for the 2015 AIA Wyoming summer conference, has undergone many changes since construction was completed in 1913.
Photo Credit: City of Evanston
The Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) reached the area currently known as Evanston in December 1868 during the Transcontinental Railroad construction. Due to its proximity to abundant resources and the east end of Echo Canyon, the UPRR established Evanston as one of its primary service stops and built the first roundhouse in 1871. The second roundhouse, completed in 1913, was larger. It had 68,000 square feet, four sections and 28 bays, and it served the UPRR as a primary locomotive maintenance depot until 1926, when it was shut down due to improvements in railroad engine equipment. After public input from Evanston citizens, the railyards were reopened and served the UPRR as a reclamation plant, called the Shops, repairing and fabricating parts and equipment. The UPRR operated the Shops until they officially closed in 1971. The Shops were a primary employment source in Evanston and peaked with approximately 300 workers during World War II, 1941-1945. During the war, the U.S. railroads were vital to the war effort. It is estimated that 90% of military freight and 97% of all military passengers (almost 44 million troops) were moved by the railroads. Because of the high demand for steel during the war years, the Shops and the ability to repair and manufacture parts and equipment were critical to the railroad and the U.S. WWII efforts.
In 1972 the entire 27-acre site was deeded to the City of Evanston. The city leased the property to a series of railcar repair companies until 1998, after which they started planning for the restoration and redevelopment of the site. The first step toward the site’s restoration, performed by the city, was the listing of the Roundhouse and Railyards on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Next, utilizing federal environmental cleanup money, site remediation work was started. Following in 2000, with the help of a grant from the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT), the city began its first capital project with the first repairs to the buildings, the machine shop and roundhouse, to stop the rapid deterioration of the masonry and roofs.
In 2001 Myers Anderson Architects was hired, and the next steps in the planning and restoration were started. The decision was made by the city to turn the Roundhouse and Railyards into a community center. Following a community-involved master planning process, the capital improvement projects commenced over many phases.
Following is a list of the different phased projects at the railyards and the year they were completed:
- Roundhouse sections one and two and the machine shop: masonry repairs, structural upgrades and roof replacement (2000)
- The machine shop: completed in two phases (2004)
- Roundhouse section one: completed in two phases (2009)
- Roundhouse sections two, three and four: environmental cleaning, structural upgrades and roof replacement (2010)
- The turntable: completed in one phase (2010)
- The J.T. & Phyllis Patterson Visitors Center (the Oil House): completed in one phase (2011)
- The superintendent’s office and shower house: two phases and ongoing (2012)
- Roundhouse sections two, three and four: masonry, windows and infrastructure (2018)
- Sections two, three and four: train door replacement (2019)
Funding for these capital projects has been provided by the City of Evanston, WYDOT, Wyoming Business Council, Wyoming Cultural Trust grants, and private and business donations. An excellent example of the partnership between the public and private sectors was the completion of the superintendent’s office. Spearheaded by the Evanston Preservation Commission and Roundhouse Restoration Incorporated (a private nonprofit), the design and restoration of this building was accomplished with the assistance of local individuals, businesses and organizations, Rocky Mountain Power, WYDOT, and the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund.
The most recent project, replacing the train doors in sections two, three and four, was completed solely by private donations.
The Roundhouse & Railyards now serve as an extraordinary public convention center and a reminder of southern Wyoming’s railroad heritage. With the 22,000 sq. ft. Roundhouse Section One, the 17,000 sq. ft. Machine Shop, Visitors Center, Superintendent’s Office and the accompanying plaza and site work, the City of Evanston can host many social gatherings such as conferences, weddings, school activities and holiday parties.
Tom Farrens, AIA
This story appears in the 2020 Directory of the Wyoming Architecture Magazine.
