National Register of Historic Places

Railway Express Agency Building

Mattoon, Illinois
Listed
January 3, 2020
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
94000974

About this property

The Railway Express Agency Building was a historic building located at 1804 Western Avenue in Mattoon, Illinois. The building was constructed in 1918 to serve as the Mattoon office of the Railway Express Agency. The Railway Express Agency provided rail express shipping services to Mattoon's citizens, allowing them to ship money and packages along Mattoon's two major railways, the Illinois Central Railroad and Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis (Big Four). The agency formed in 1917, when the federal government ordered that all existing express services consolidate into a single service; this measure ensured consistent shipping of goods during World War I. The agency shipped goods to and from Mattoon until 1964, when the Big Four went bankrupt; the building served as a freight depot until 1971. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 16, 1994. It fell into disrepair due to disuse, however, and was demolished in July 2013. It was delisted in 2020.

Location

Mattoon, Illinois
39.48318, -88.37673
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Illinois Central Railroad Depot
Industrial
0.1 mi
Starr Hotel
Industrial
0.1 mi
U. S. Post Office
Industrial
0.1 mi
Burgess-Osborne Memorial Auditorium
Industrial
0.2 mi
Unity Church
Civil War
0.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Railway Express Agency Building listed on the National Register?

Railway Express Agency Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 3, 2020.

What type of historic resource is Railway Express Agency Building?

Railway Express Agency Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Railway Express Agency Building?

The period of significance for Railway Express Agency Building is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Railway Express Agency Building?

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