Roundhouse recovery

It’s not unusual for great historical treasures to remain lost, even forgotten, for a long time. A good example would be the Lyric Theatre, which remained closed and largely forgotten for decades before its recent restoration.

And now, a Birmingham teen with a passion for history has rediscovered a key relic of the city’s railway past that he says must be saved.

Khari Marquette, a home-schooled high school senior, has launched a campaign to save the Finley Roundhouse, an old railroad building near Interstate 65 and the American Cast Iron Pipe Co. that he found and explored in 2012.

Marquette, as well as representatives of some local history groups, said he believes the Roundhouse is worthy of recognition and preservation and could be adapted for a new use — perhaps as a railroad museum or community center — that would help revitalize the Acipco-Finley neighborhood.

And though Marquette, 17, only recently launched his campaign, he has made some headway and impressed others with his passion for the project.

Marquette said he is “very optimistic” about the project.

“I will ensure that no obstacle will attempt to derail my efforts to save the Roundhouse,” he said.

Located in an obscure spot on Center Street two blocks north of Finley Boulevard, the Roundhouse was built in 1915 for Southern Railway, according to bhamwiki.com. 

The large, circular structure serviced locomotives and once contained a large turntable.

“The Roundhouse was where they turned the trains [and locomotives] around,” said Alice Williams, president of the Jefferson County Historical Association and treasurer of the Birmingham History Center. 

It is one of two surviving roundhouses in Birmingham and the largest of its type in Alabama.

“I was quite amazed and obsessed with this find, and [that it’s] still in good condition,” said Marquette, who lives in the Sun Valley area. “It was a place off the beaten path. I was determined to put this knowledge to use and present it to the public.”

The yard was dismantled in 1952 when Southern moved its operations to Irondale, according to bhamwiki.com. The Roundhouse remained on property purchased by ACIPCO, which sold the building in the mid-1950s to a company that added a warehouse and used it for storage. The building was abandoned in 2006.

Part of Marquette’s excitement about the Roundhouse comes from the fact that he is one of only a few people who know it exists, he said.

“The Roundhouse is a hidden gem and monumental secret of the history of Birmingham, and it is truly worthy of preserving,” Marquette said. “The Finley Yard was a contributor to the city’s early history and the rail culture that surrounded it.” 

Marquette recently started a Facebook group and plans to create a website and YouTube channel. He said he intends to use crowdfunding to raise money for publicity, research and feasibility studies. He is taking suggestions regarding uses for the building.

He wants to nominate the Roundhouse for inclusion on the Alabama “Places in Peril” list released annually by the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation. This effort was recently endorsed by the boards of both the Jefferson County Historical Association and the Birmingham History Center, according to JCHA President Alice Williams, who called the Roundhouse a treasure.

“There are not many of these things left. They are very fast disappearing,” she said. “It could probably be a community center and come back and play an important part in the city going forward.”

Marquette also is working to add the Roundhouse to the National Register of Historic Places. As a first step, he recently submitted a Determination of Eligibility letter to the National Register coordinator at the Alabama Historical Commission in Montgomery, he said.

He made a presentation to the Mid-South Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society in Leeds in April, and the group endorsed his efforts to preserve the Roundhouse, chapter President James Lowery said.

Neighborhood President Art Grayson, an Acipco-Finley resident for 35 years, said he only learned of the existence of the Roundhouse about six months ago but believes the structure could be a real asset.

“It should be used for something that we all can be proud of and that it will certainly pay for itself,” he said.

Linda Nelson, executive secretary of the Jefferson County Historical Commission, said she has offered Marquette some logistical help and expressed optimism about the project — in part because of Marquette’s grit and determination. “He is not going to stop,” she said. “He will be after people and finding sources of money and doing everything that he can.”

To learn more about efforts to restore the Roundhouse, join the “Save the Finley Roundhouse” group on Facebook.