Aurora, Illinois Roundhouse

bobyar2001 · **Posted:** Mon May 08, 2006 5:27 pm

CB&Q facility. Isn't this the one that is now Walter Payton's sports bar?

http://cgi.ebay.com/CB-Q-Aurora-Railroa ... otohosting

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Mon May 08, 2006 6:09 pm

Ayep, Walter Payton's Roundhouse Complex, to quote the website, "is a 70,000 sq.ft. entertainment facility which houses America's Brewpub Restaurant and Bar, the International Award-Winning America's Brewing Company, Corporate and Wedding Banquet Facilities, gRoundhouse Coffee Bar featuring Starbucks Coffee, Piano Bar, America's Club, Live Entertainment Night Club, ComedyComedy Club, an open-air courtyard and entertainment area and the Walter Payton Museum. Now a stylish entertainment and fine dining complex, the Aurora Roundhouse is the oldest existing limestone roundhouse in the nation and an historic landmark."

Lots of photos and history at:
http://www.americasbrewpub.com/

Warning: website not Mozilla Firefox friendly..........

The beer is darn good, too..... and is one of TWO Chicago-region brewpubs one can ride Metra right to and from the door of (the other being Flossmoor Station on the ex-IC electric line).

Dennis Storzek · **Posted:** Mon May 08, 2006 6:12 pm

It certainly looks like it. Pretty good food, but not much heritage; just standard "retro-industrial" look with lot's of expose brick. Luckily, the restaurant is directly connected to the Aurora Transportation Center (the Metra station) which is in another rectangular shop building of similar vintage, and it has a nice set of display panels of photos and text describing the facilities that used to be here and their history. If you're in Aurora, IL, it's worth a walk-through (hey, it's free) and maybe dinner at the roundhouse (which isn't.)

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Mon May 08, 2006 6:33 pm

There are on display in the roundhouse several "before" photos of the roundhouse upon acquisition by the big party of investors (of which Payton was only a minor player, I hear). It was perhaps as close to only an outer and inner wall as you can imagine. There really wasn't that much railroad heritage to preserve, and if any roundhouse was worthy of such severe adaptive reuse, this was the one.

bobyar2001 · **Posted:** Mon May 08, 2006 8:59 pm

Judging from the rolling stock present, it appears to have been used as a carshop at the time the photo was taken, having already been replaced by the newer roundhouse at Aurora, which was torn down after the steam era.

bobyar2001 · **Posted:** Wed May 10, 2006 10:31 pm

An earlier view, with locomotive:

http://photos.bnsf.com/Gallery/ecomm/Or ... eID=321368