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Aerial view of the Illinois Central roundhouse near Earhart Boulevard in Central City, 1949. The roundhouse is an engine facility for passenger trains servicing the IC's Union Station. The station was demolished in 1952 when the new Union Passenger Terminal was constructed in front of it on Loyola Avenue.
Since steam engines were no longer used for passenger trains coming into New Orleans by the 1950s, the roundhouse was torn down and replaced by a diesel engine facility. The railroad also expanded its coach yard and Pullman service facility. These facilities were taken over by Amtrak in 1972, and remain in use by Amtrak to the present.
To the left of the roundhouse facility is Earhart Blvd. The building at center-left is Booker T. Washington High School, and just above the school is the B. W. Cooper housing project.
