Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
“Griffith Interlocking Tower is a historic interlocking tower located at Griffith, Indiana. It was built in 1924 by the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway.”
Wikipedia article E.J. and E. Griffith Interlocking Tower, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 88 National Register listings published here for Lake County · listed in 2003 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Griffith E.J. and E. Interlocking Tower between 1995 and 2020, burning about 22 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | HOOSIER |
| 8 November 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 4.0 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | HOOPS |
| 7 November 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 3.0 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | RIDGE FIRE |
| 12 October 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 acres | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore | CLARK |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Griffith E.J. and E. Interlocking Tower: 2 plants, 1 producer, 1 past producer. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samoki Brothers Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gary #1 Plant | Clay | Plant | ||
| Gary #8 Plant | Clay | Plant | ||
| Yard M Clay Pit | Clay | Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Griffith, the town this property stands in, in 27 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 16 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 1 tornado, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2008 | Tornado (EF2) | Griffith | $1,000,000 | A tornado touched down just northeast of the Ridge Road and Cline Avenue intersection. Damage occurred at the Griffith Park Plaza Mall where windows were blown out of a row of stores and a portion of a roof was blown off of a vacant store. The damage path continued to the east, behind the mall. Two parked semi-trailers in the back of the mall were shifted eastward while a third was completely knocked over. The area to the east of this mall in the subdivision along and north of 37th Avenue near Lafayette Avenue and Rensselaer Avenue sustained some of the strongest wind damage from this tornado. Two houses on Lafayette Avenue had their roofs blown off with another house on Rensselaer Avenue also having its roof collapsed and a garage door pushed inward. Other significant damage that occurred was at the Habitat for Humanity storage building at Colfax and Ridge Road. Here, a cinder block storage building completely toppled to the ground. Although the building was knocked over, it appears as though the main cause of it faltering was due to a large tree that fell on top of it. At a nearby gas station within feet of this building, no damage occurred and people actually witnessed the tornado descend on the shelter. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | $25,000 | Numerous trees were damaged and high tension power lines were blown down near Ridge Road and Cline Avenue. A large tree fell onto a house near North Arbogast Street and 43rd Street. |
| October 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | $5,000 | A large tree was uprooted on Arbogast Street. Gas pumps were knocked off their foundation at a gas station. |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | One tree was uprooted and another split on Woodlawn Ave north of Glen Park Ave. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | Multiple reports of tree damage were received in Griffith. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | Several trees were reported down in Griffith including one that had fallen onto a car. A photo shared also showed a light pole that had fallen onto a baseball field. |
| May 2014 | Flood | Griffith | - | Four to five inches of flowing water was reported in parking lots near Cline Avenue and Ridge Road. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | Wind gusts to 80 mph were measured near Cline Avenue and Ridge Road. |
| June 2012 | Hail | Griffith | - | Quarter size hail was reported at Ridge Road and Cline Avenue. |
| August 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | Wind gusts to 70 mph were measured near Cline Avenue and Ridge Road. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | Wind gusts were measured to 75 mph. Tree limbs were blown down. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | Numerous tree limbs were blown down in many areas. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph near Cline Avenue and Ridge Road. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | A wind gust to 80 mph was measured at Main Street and Cline Avenue. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph in Griffith. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | Multiple large Oak trees uprooted in Central Park. |
| August 2007 | Hail | Griffith | - | Nickel size hail reported at the intersection of Main and Cline Avenues. |
| October 2006 | Hail | Griffith | - | Nickel to quarter size hail was reported in Griffith. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | Power lines and large tree branches were down across the city. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Griffith | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Griffith | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Griffith | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Griffith | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Griffith | - | no account filed |
| September 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Griffith | - | no account filed |
| June 1994 | Hail | Griffith | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Griffith Grand Trunk Depot | under 500 feet | 2003 |
| Griffith State Bank | 0.2 miles | 2019 | |
 | Ibach House | 3.8 miles | 2010 |
 | Joseph Ernest Meyer House | 4.1 miles | 1984 |
 | Barney Sablotny House | 4.6 miles | 2012 |
 | Stallbohm Barn-Kaske House | 4.6 miles | 1998 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 03000980 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Lake County | All 88 listed properties in this county. |
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