FDNY and NYC Firehouses and Fire Companies - 2nd Section

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Napoleon Lebrun architect - FDNY Firehouse - Engine 5 - 340 E 14th Street - 1888 - current quarters Engine 5

Newsday
NEWSNEW YORK A look inside some of NYC's oldest institutions

The oldest FDNY firehouse still battling blazes today is Engine Company 5, which was first organized in September 1865. The station house, located at 340 E. 14th St., was built between 1880 and 1881 by architect Napoleon Lebrun, who designed many firehouses in the city in the late 19th century.

A look inside some of NYC's oldest institutions

www.newsday.com

 

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Napoleon Lebrun architect - FDNY Firehouses - Engine 46 and Ladder 27 (also Ladder 58, Rescue 3) - 451 & 453 E 176th Street, Bronx - 1895 & 1904 -


Landmarks Preservation Commission February 12, 2013, Designation List 462 LP-2523

FIREHOUSE, ENGINE COMPANY 46 (now Engine Company 46/ Hook & Ladder Company 17), 451-453 East 176th Street, Borough of the Bronx Built: 1894 and 1904; Architect: Napoleon LeBrun & Sons

Landmark Site: Borough of the Bronx Tax Map 2909, Lot 40

On December 11, 2012 the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposed designation as a Landmark of Firehouse, Engine Company 46 (Now Engine Company 46/ Hook & Ladder Company 17) and the proposed designation of the related Landmark Site (Item No.1).The hearing had been duly advertised in accordance with the provisions of law. There were two speakers in favor of designation including a representative of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and a representative of the Historic District Council. There were no speakers in opposition. In addition, the Commission has received a letter from the Fire Department of the City of New York in support of designation.
Summary Fire Engine Company 46 (now Engine Company 46/ Hook & Ladder Company 17) was designed by the prominent architectural firm of Napoleon LeBrun & Sons, architects for the Fire Department between 1879 and 1895. Erected in two campaigns, the first building was completed in 1894 and the second in 1904 as the population and number of buildings expanded in the Bathgate section of the Bronx. The Renaissance Revival style building for Fire Engine Company 46 is an excellent example of LeBrun’s numerous midblock houses for the fire department, reflecting the firm’s careful attention to materials, stylistic detail, plan and setting. LeBrun’s firm helped to define the Fire Department’s expression of civic architecture, both functionally and symbolically, in more than forty buildings it designed during a period of intensive growth in northern Manhattan and the Bronx. This firehouse, with its classical details such as garlanded spandrel panels, dentiled courses, medallions and corbels, represents the city’s commitment to the important civic character of essential municipal services. The design of the original building, with three bays above a large, central vehicular entrance flanked by a smaller window and door, was repeated on the second building ten years later, and the entire composition creates a substantial street presence that continues to suggest the vital role of the Fire Department. Over the years, this building has housed several engine and hook and ladder companies, including Hook & Ladder Company 27 and 58, as well as the offices of the Fire Marshalls and the Bureau of Fire Communications; it currently is the home of Engine Company 46/ Hook & Ladder Company 17.

DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS

Firefighting in New York From the earliest colonial period, the government of New York took the possibility of fire very seriously. Under Dutch rule all men were expected to participate in firefighting activities. After the English took over, the Common Council organized a force of 30 volunteer firefighters in 1737. They operated two Newsham hand pumpers that had recently been imported from London. By 1798, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), under the supervision of a chief engineer and six subordinates was officially established by an act of the state legislature. As the city grew, this force was augmented by new volunteer companies. In spite of growing numbers of firefighters and improvements in hoses and water supplies, fire was a significant threat in an increasingly densely built up city. Of particular significance was the “Great Fire” of December 16-17, 1835, which caused more damage to property than any other event in the early years of New York City. The damages resulting from several major fires between 1800 and 1850 led to the establishment of a building code, and an increase in the number of firemen from 600 in 1800 to more than 4,000 in 1865. Despite rapid growth, the department was often criticized for poor performance. Intense competition between companies began to hinder firefighting with frequent brawls and acts of sabotage, often at the scenes of fires. During the Civil War, when fire personnel became harder to retain, public support grew for the creation of a professional firefighting force, similar to that which had been established in other cities and to the professional police force that had been created in New York in 1845. In May 1865, the New York State Legislature established the Metropolitan Fire District, comprising the cities of New York (south of 86th Street) and Brooklyn. The act abolished the volunteer system and created the Metropolitan Fire Department, a paid professional force under the jurisdiction of the state government. By the end of the year, the city’s 124 volunteer companies with more than 4,000 men had retired or disbanded, to be replaced by 33 engine companies and 12 ladder companies operated by a force of 500 men. Immediate improvements included the use of more steam engines, horses and a somewhat reliable telegraph system. A military model was adopted for the firefighters, which involved the use of specialization, discipline, and merit. By 1870, regular service was extended to the “suburban districts” north of 86th Street and expanded still farther north after the annexation of parts of the Bronx in 1874. New techniques and equipment, including taller ladders and stronger steam engines, increased the department’s efficiency, as did the establishment, in 1883, of a training academy for personnel. The growth of the city during this period placed severe demands on the fire department to provide services, and in response the department undertook an ambitious building campaign. The area served by the FDNY nearly doubled after consolidation in 1898, when the departments in Brooklyn and numerous communities in Queens and Staten Island were incorporated into the city. After the turn of the century, the Fire Department acquired more modern apparatus and motorized vehicles, reflecting the need for faster response to fires in taller buildings. Throughout the 20th century, the department has endeavored to keep up with the evolving city and its firefighting needs.


Firehouse Design Early firehouses often took the form of a simple wooden storage shed, but as the fire department evolved from a volunteer group to a paid professional service, their facilities evolved as well, into more efficient spaces for men and equipment as well as imposing architectural expressions of civic character. As early as 1853, Marriott Field had argued in his City Architecture: Designs for Dwelling Houses, Stores, Hotels, etc. for symbolic architectural expression in municipal buildings, including firehouses. The 1854 Fireman’s Hall, with its highly symbolic ornamentation, reflected this approach, using flambeaux, hooks, ladders, and trumpets for its ornament. During the second half of the 19th century, architects and builders often drew from various historical prototypes as inspiration for their building designs. Certain types of structures were deemed appropriate for particular contemporary buildings, such as armories based on medieval castles, or school buildings following Gothic or Colonial models. Firehouses, with their unique functions, had no such particular style as a guide, leaving firehouse designers more open to a variety of shapes, designs and styles. In addition, the large population increases of the 1880s and 90s required that more firehouses be built, and larger budgets enabled designers to create more interesting and substantial buildings. A later article in The Brickbuilder summed up the situation, [The fire station] is exactly the type of building which is extremely interesting to an architect, being devoid of serious difficulties and of a size and character which permit excellent results... and they [firehouses] can be made attractive and express an appreciation of civic care which should be apparent in all city work. A firehouse had certain simple requirements, such as a large door on the ground story and windows above for the living spaces. Beyond that, architects could experiment somewhat with size and decorative features, giving them some leeway in their designs, for these buildings that were located throughout the city. While the buildings were generally designed to blend in to their neighborhoods, at the same time architects were required to create an appropriately civic statement and a building that was distinct enough that people would instantly understand what it was. As more firehouses were built and their importance understood, more trained architects were hired for the job. Between 1880 and 1895, Napoleon LeBrun & Son served as the official architectural firm for the fire department, designing 42 fire structures in a massive effort to modernize the facilities and to accommodate the growing population of the city. Although the firm’s earliest designs were relatively simple, later buildings were more distinguished and more clearly identifiable as firehouses. After LeBrun’s death in 1895, the department commissioned a number of well-known architects to design firehouses. Influenced by the classical revival style that was popular throughout the country, New York firms such as Hoppin & Koen, Flagg & Chambers, and Horgan & Slatterly created facades with bold, classical style designs. After the turn of the 20th century, the Fire Department also used its own employees to design a series of buildings, all executed in a formal neo-Classical style consistent with the ideas promoted by the City Beautiful movement. Government buildings were placed in neighborhoods throughout the city, with the intention of inspiring civic pride in the work of the government and the country as a whole. Buildings such as these firehouses are easily recognizable and announce themselves as distinct from private structures, using quality materials, workmanship and details to create buildings of lasting beauty and significance to their localities.


Growth of The Bronx and the Bathgate Section The village of Fordham was the first to develop west of the Bronx River, due to the establishment of St. John’s College (later Fordham University) on the Rose Hill estate and contributed to the need for the Fordham station of the New York and Harlem Railroad, the first one built on the mainland. Numerous mills were also established along the Bronx River, attracting growing numbers of settlers to the area. As the population west of the river grew, the Legislature divided the town of Westchester in 1846, designating the area west of the river as West Farms. These changes inspired the expansion of large sections of the region into suburban villages. The first town developed by Gouverneur Morris II, with Nicholas McGraw, was called Morrisania, named to honor the old colonial manor that had once stood nearby. In 1850, Morris worked with surveyor Andrew Findley to lay out the villages of Woodstock, Melrose, Melrose East and Melrose South. Jordan Mott purchased 100 acres from Morris to create the town of Mott Haven, adjacent to his J.L. Mott Iron Works factory, while Robert Elton purchased 7 acres that became Eltonia. A 140 acre tract north of Morrisania was purchased in 1841 by Alexander Bathgate, a Scottish immigrant, who had been overseer of the Morris Manorlands. He built his own farmhouse near what is now Third Avenue and East 172nd Street. This property was inherited by his sons, and part of it was sold for building lots beginning in 1851. A section of Bathgate’s property consisted of “the Bathgate Woods,” a large tract of unspoiled land that was home to a large variety of bird species. The forest attracted many hunters, and later (c. 1883) was purchased by the city and renamed Crotona Park. The village of Bathgate developed west of the park and later became part of the Tremont section of The Bronx. In 1874, the townships of Morrisania, West Farms and Kingsbridge split completely from Westchester County and became the 23rd and 24th wards of the City of New York. This area of the Bronx became known as the Annexed District. Beginning in the early 1880s, booster organizations such as the North Side Association advocated for infrastructure improvements such as street paving and new sewers. The elevated railroad began a line along Third Avenue in 1888, furthering the process of urbanization, which increased more substantially with the arrival of the subway in 1904. The population of the Bronx grew rapidly. Many of the people who came to live in the Bronx were skilled craftsmen attracted to the new industries being established there. Others were new immigrants, many from Ireland and Germany, countries that were undergoing political upheavals. African-Americans also settled in the new areas, since there was officially no slavery in New York by this time and there are records indicating that some churches and schools were fully integrated. In its early years, the Bathgate section also attracted many Jews who were moving out of Manhattan’s Lower East Side to get more air and space. The various ethnic groups tended to settle together in different sections. In 1890, there were 89,000 people living in the area of the Bronx known as the North Side; ten years later it had more than doubled to over 200,000. By 1915, this number had increased threefold, to 616,000. As the population and number of new buildings increased, protection from the ever-present danger of fire grew increasingly important. Beginning in the 1880s the Fire Department created many new companies and built many new firehouses so it could expand its efforts in the area to protect the growing numbers of buildings throughout the Annexed District.


Napoleon LeBrun & Sons Napoleon LeBrun (1821-1901) was an architect and engineer who trained under Thomas U. Walter, the designer of the dome and wings of the U.S. Capitol building. LeBrun opened his own office in Philadelphia in 1841 and designed numerous churches in that city, as well as residential and commercial buildings. Moving to New York in 1864, LeBrun also had a successful and varied practice in this city, including a prize-winning design for the Masonic Temple (1870) at Sixth Avenue and 23rd Street. In the 1880s, LeBrun expanded his firm to include his sons, Pierre and Michel and the firm was renamed. Among his best-known skyscrapers in New York are the Home Life Insurance Building (1892-4, 256-7 and 253 Broadway), the Metropolitan Life Insurance Building (1907-09, 1 Madison Avenue), both designated New York City Landmarks. Between 1880 and 1895, LeBrun’s firm was the official architect for the New York City Fire Department, designing 42 structures throughout Manhattan and the Bronx, in a wide variety of styles, adapting the buildings to fit within their particular neighborhoods. While the basic function and requirements of the firehouse were established early in its history, LeBrun is credited with standardizing the program, and introducing some minor, but important, innovations in the plan. Placing the horse stalls in the main part of the ground floor to reduce the time needed for hitching horses to the apparatus was one such innovation. Firehouses were often located on mid-block sites because these were less expensive than more prominent corner sites. Since the sites were narrow, firehouses tended to be three stories tall, with the apparatus on the ground story and rooms for the company, including dormitory, kitchen and captain’s office, above. The other basic design element common to all was a large, central vehicular door, to make it easier for the engines to exit the buildings. Thus the ground story was always symmetrically arranged around this opening, flanked by a smaller pedestrian door and window. Beyond these basic requirements, the architect often applied various styles and details to make the buildings distinctive or to relate the building to its particular neighborhood. LeBrun’s firm often used classically-inspired styles popularized at the time by the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.



Engine Company 46 Engine Company 46 was originally organized in 1881 in response to the growing population of the area. As a “combination” company, Engine 46 had both a truck and an engine under the command of a single captain. The company was first housed in rental quarters on Morris Street, between Madison and Washington avenues. By 1883, the need for a new house for this company was recognized in the annual report (along with Engine Companies 9 and 23). However, it was also noted that the Fire Department was “morally if not legally obligated to continue the lease with the owner of the building now occupied by that company until December 31, 1888, and it was therefore considered proper to defer the erection of a new house.” The company remained at this location until 1893 when two lots were purchased on East 176th Street, 150 feet west of Washington Avenue. In 1894, the building for Engine Company 46 was constructed at 451 East 176th Street, designed by the firm of Napoleon LeBrun & Sons. The second building (on the second lot) was constructed in 1903-04, for Hook & Ladder Company 27, and was also designed by LeBrun’s firm. A second ladder company, Hook & Ladder Company 58, was organized at this same location in 1968, to supplement the work of Hook & Ladder Company 27 because of the numerous calls to which these companies responded during this period. These companies continued to operate out of these buildings until 1972 when Engine Company 46 and Hook & Ladder Company 27 moved to new quarters at 460 Cross Bronx Expressway. At this time the Bureau of Fire Investigation (Fire Marshalls) and the Bureau of Fire Communications took up residence in these buildings on East 176th Street. (Hook & Ladder Company 58 remained at this location until 1974.) In 1992, these services were relocated again and the two buildings were occupied by Rescue Company 3, which previously had been located on West 181st Street. Today these buildings are again occupied by an engine company and a ladder company. This building was one of many designed by LeBrun’s firm throughout Manhattan and the Bronx. With so many buildings being produced over a short time, it was not uncommon for similar buildings to be built in different parts of the city. The firehouse at 530 West 43rd Street in Manhattan (demolished) was very similar to this one in the Bronx and was built immediately following it.


Description This three-story, six-bay wide building occupies a mid-block site. The eastern side is not visible due to the adjacent building and the plain brick western side is visible only above the adjacent one-story building. The ground story is faced with brownstone and the two upper floors are faced with light brick with banding. The facade consists of two, almost identical, 3-bay sections. Historic: Ground story: each section has large, central vehicular entrance, with ornamented iron beam across top; iron reveal on vehicle entrance of eastern section; to west of each vehicle entrance is small window with metal grille, to east, pedestrian door, each topped by separate stone transom; stone water table, projecting stone course at sill level; carved stone panel with “46 Engine 46” over western vehicle entrance; panels of terra-cotta ornament over windows and doors of ground story; dentil course between ground story from second story. Upper floors: each section has three rectangular windows with original 1/1, wood-sash windows; continuous brownstone sills; separate, brick, flat-arch lintels with embellished, scroll-shaped keystones over each window; lintels on windows of eastern section also topped by moldings; round terra-cotta medallions and bronze plaque between second and third story windows; terra-cotta frieze with framed panels under terra-cotta cornice supported on embellished scroll brackets. Alterations: Vehicular doors replaced; pedestrian doors replaced; transoms filled by painted panels; several lights, intercoms, alarms added; sign added over eastern vehicle entrance; flag pole projects from second story.

• http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/2013-FirehouseEngineCompany46.pdf

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Napoleon Lebrun architect - FDNY Firehouses - Engine 16 - 225 E 25th Street - 1883 - former firehouse civilian use (church reading room)

Daytonian in Manhattan

Engine Company 16 - 223 East 25th Street

When the loose network of volunteer fire companies was disbanded in 1865 as the professional Metropolitan District fire department was formed, it was a melancholy day for many of the veteran "laddies." Among the 41 members of the Lexington Engine Company, No. 7 were a barber, two butchers, a ship-joiner, a horse shoer, and a carriage maker. On September 18, 1865 the fire department announced that their old fire house at No. 223 East 25th Street would become home to the newly-formed Metropolitan Steam Fire Engine Company No. 16.

When Engine Company 16 took over the building the Kips Bay area was still relatively undeveloped. But the flurry of construction in the first years following the Civil War brought tenements, stores and small factory buildings. In the early 1880s the fire department was scrambling to build new firehouses and update or replace the old ones to keep up with the expanding city.

In 1879 Napoleon Le Brun had become the official architect for the fire department. The following year his son, Pierre, joined him to create N. Le Brun & Son. The firm filed plans on August 1, 1882 for a replacement fire house for Engine Company 16. The three-story structure was projected to cost $18,000, or in the neighborhood of $436,000 today.

The completed structure followed the typical fire house pattern. The cast iron base was dominated by the central truck bay. The two upper floors were clad in red brick. As was often the case with their less opulent fire houses, N. Le Brun & Son relied on terra cotta and creative brickwork for decorative effect. A knobby quilt of terra cotta tiles filled the spandrels above the second and third floors, and the dog-tooth pattern brick filled the arches of the top floor openings. Above a frieze of floral terra cotta tiles was an unusually deep bracketed cast metal cornice.

As with all fire companies, No. 16 responded to an array of calls. The fire on the night of July 10, 1899 was especially memorable. It broke out in the Infants' Pavilion of Bellevue Hospital, described by The New York Times as "ramshackle."

Around 11:00 Miss Abbe, the head of the four nurses in the ward, entered the darkened room to check on a sick baby. The hospital's location near the East River and the summer heat necessitated the cribs being covered in mosquito netting. While Miss Abbe tended to the baby, her candle fell over setting fire to the netting.

The Times reported "With a puff the whole netting burst into flames. The blaze jumped to either side, ran along from crib to crib, and caught the bed linen. Miss Abbe stood her ground heroically and pulled at the blazing material until her hands were seriously burned."

By the time Engine Company 16 could respond the fire had spread to the adult wards. Here, too, the mosquito netting quickly caught fire and a civilian, Albert Stone who was a former fireman, rushed in to help, tearing down the netting as Engine Company 16 attacked the flames. Unfortunately some of the patients were burned. The Times reported "The injury to the patients may be serious."

The work of fire fighters, by nature, put their lives at risk. On May 3, 1903 Engine Company 16 responded to a fire in the four-story boarding house at First Avenue and 15th Street. When the truck arrived 50-year old Henry Williams was trapped on the upper floor and flames could be seen in his room from the street.

Twenty-four year old William McNally scaled a ladder to the window. The New-York Tribune reported "As McNally got to the top a sheet of flame burst out of the window." The fire fighter paused, then jumped inside. A few moments later he appeared with McWilliams in his arms. The crowd watching from the sidewalk broke into cheers.

Their jubilation was soon crushed. Just as McNally started to climb out of the window, he was overcome and both he and McWilliams fell back into the burning room as "another sheet of flame leaped from the window."

Firefighter James C. McEvoy clambered up the ladder. He reappeared in the window with McNally, half conscious, whom he managed to get to the ground. Now Engine Company 16's foreman, McGarrity, and firefighter Lang headed up for the other victim. They found McWilliams unconscious and dragged him to another window where there was a fire escape. On the way down, McGarrity's foot got wedged in a triangular space of the fire escape. Lang continued down with McWilliams while McGarrity struggled to escape as the flames closed in.

By the time firefighters freed his foot by using crowbars and hammers it was too late. McWilliams died on the way to Bellevue Hospital. Both McNally and McEvoy suffered severe burns.

McWilliams's widow would receive half his salary as a pension. But the following year there was a question about whether Mark Kelly's widow would receive the same compensation.

On February 7, 1904 fire broke out in the western part of downtown Baltimore. It quickly outstripped the abilities of the Baltimore Fire Department and calls for help were sent out to other cities. New York's Acting Fire Chief Kruger received a telephone call saying "that Baltimore's men were worn out and needed all the help they could get," according to the New-York Tribune.

Before dawn the following morning nine engines and a hook and ladder truck along with 105 firemen, including the men of Engine Company 16 headed south. The Tribune noted "It was the first time within the memory of old firemen when the department had been called on to send the fire fighters so far outside the city."

Ballation Chief Howe telegraphed Chief Kruger at 5:30 a.m. on February 9 saying "We are now combating the fire on the water front. All our firemen are in good condition and working hard."

Among those men was Engineer Mark Kelly, of Engine Company 16. The frigid February winds off the Baltimore harbor made the work even more grueling. The Evening World later pointed out "He had been on constant duty for twenty-two hours without being relieved at the Baltimore fire."

The inferno was finally extinguished; but not before 1,500 buildings and some 140 acres of Baltimore were destroyed. The men of Engine Company 16 returned home on the night of February 9. When they arrived Kelly was so ill he had to be helped home. He had contracted pneumonia due to exposure.

Kelly was already a hero who had distinguished himself in more than two dozen fires and was credited for saving several lives. His condition did not improve and on February 26, 1904 The Evening World ran the headline: NOTED FIRE HERO MARTYR TO DUTY.

Kelly received an impressive department funeral. But then his comrades turned their attention to his pension. Widows of firefighters who died of natural causes were eligible to $25 a month, as opposed to the one-half salary for line of duty deaths. Kelly earned $1,600 a year so the difference to his widow and three children would be significant.

The Times reported "Kelly's fellow-firemen believe that the widow will be allowed half his salary as a pension, since the disease he contracted was a direct result o his exposure while performing his duty." The nation responded as well, The Insurance Times noting "Few public funds created more sympathy or support than did that raised for the widow of the brave New York fireman, Mark Kelly, who lost his life through his hard work in connection with the Baltimore fire."

In July 1906 the department's architect Alexander Stevens filed plans to renovations to the 25th Street station house, including "new reinforced concrete floors and installing iron staircases." The $15,000 improvements were intended "to increase the floor stability."

The heavy engine of Company 16 was pulled by three strong horses. The firefighters riding on the front of the vehicle were expected to use what today would be called seat belts. The importance of the safety feature became tragically obvious on the afternoon of March 28, 1910.

Fireman Joseph White was the driver that afternoon when the company responded to a grocery store fire on First Avenue. In his haste, White failed to strap himself in. The engine headed east, but "when the wheels struck a deep rut at First avenue and 23d street White was pitched forward to the pavement between two of the three galloping horses and then crushed under the wheels of the engine." The horses galloped on until a group of civilians were able to bring them to a halt.

White never regained consciousness and died within ten minutes. Ironically, the fire, described by the New-York Tribune as "a trifling affair," caused a mere $25 in damages.

The rules of the Fire Department expressly prohibited drinking alcohol while on duty. Fireman Walter J. Hicks cleverly devised a way around the rules--for a while, anyway. His undoing cam when Captain Martin Morrison was talking to Assistant Foreman Slowey outside the fire house on August 10, 1911. They noticed a small boy with a can "such as is generally used to carry beer from saloons," as explained by The Times, go into the house next door to the station.

The newspaper reported that Morrison's suspicions were raised and he sneaked up to the top floor of the fire house with Slowey as a witness, "but stopped on the stairs when his head was on a level with the floor." Peeking through the banisters, he saw Hicks staring at the skylight. Suddenly the skylight opened and the can of beer was lowered down on a cord. "Hicks grasped it and drank its contents with signs of great satisfaction."

Morrison and Slowey quietly went downstairs, but returned later for the evidence. They confronted the imbibing firefighter who said he "knew nothing about the can." Nevertheless, The Times explained "the evidence was so strong against him that he was required to give up five day's pay."

The company's motorized truck can be glimpsed through the open bay doors around 1935. photographer unknown, from the collection of the Columbia University Libraries, Information Services

Engine Company 16's horses had been replaced by a motorized truck by 1924, when the city was plagued by an arsonist. When they arrived at a blaze at 23rd Street and Second Avenue at 4:40 on the morning of August 20, it was the latest in more than 100 fires had been purposely set. The man leaning against the fire alarm box post at that hour of the morning raised the suspicions of Fire Captain Amanuel Goldsmith. He detained him, then turned him over to Patrolman Murphy.

The young man would not answer the question as to whether he had set the fire. Instead he rambled on about himself, saying his name was Kenneth Karick and was a horse trainer and former jockey. While he claimed he had just arrived from Saratoga "with a large sum of money," he had no cash on him "and was unable to tell them what had become of it," according to newspaper accounts.

After much questioning, he finally confessed. His name was actually George C. Custow, and he told a judge he had "an uncontrollable impulse to set fires" and that he "got a wonderful thrill" watching the firemen and fire apparatus. The 26-year old's father blamed his "aberrations" on "an attack of infantile paralysis which left him a cripple in 1916."

By the 1960s the old fire house was inadequate for modern equipment. In 1968 Engine Company 16 moved into the newly-built fire house at No. 234 East 29th Street with Hook and Ladder Company 7.

Five years later the city announced the 25th Street fire house would be sold at auction, with an opening bid of $24,000. The 500 bidders quickly drove the price up, until the Ninth Church of Christ, Scientist won it with a bid of $217,000. Even the city's Department of Real Estate was surprised, a spokesman saying "we never thought it would go as high as it did."

The second floor was slightly remodeled for worship space, leaving the original pressed tin ceiling intact. On the top floor one can envision Captain Morrison peeking through the banisters at a beer-drinking fireman. photographs via www.elliman.com

The church made expected renovations to the building, removing the truck bay doors and remodeling the interiors. The group remained in the building until 2017 when it offered the property for $7.3 million.

• http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2017/10/engine-company-16-223-east-25th-street.html

 

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Napoleon Lebrun architect - FDNY Firehouses - Ladder 7 - 217 East 28th Street - 1893 - former firehouse civilian use


Daytonian in Manhattan

Napoleon Le Brun's Hook & Ladder No. 7 - 217 East 28th Street


Napoleon Le Brun's Hook & Ladder No. 7 - 217 East 28th Street

The Washington Hook and Ladder 9 operated from its firehouse at No. 217 East 28th Street prior to 1865. One of many volunteer companies scattered throughout the city, its members were volunteers who lived in the neighborhood. When a fire broke out, the men called "laddies" would scramble to the firehouse. Fire companies often vied with one another to arrive at the fire first, or to become more skilled at extinguishing blazes.

The end of the disorganized system came following the devastating fire that destroyed Barnum's Museum in 1865. The State Assembly passed the Act of 1865 that coupled Brooklyn and New York with a professional "Metropolitan District" fire department. Washington Hook and Ladder 9 was replaced on October 11, 1865 by Hook and Ladder Company No. 7.

Fighting fires in the crowded city was made more dangerous and difficult because of the highly flammable materials that were so often involved. Houses and apartment buildings were lit either by kerosene lamps or gas; carriage houses and stables were filled with hay and grain; and distilleries, pharmacies and printing houses stored explosive components.

An example was the devastating blaze that broke out in Walter Briggs's large livery and boarding stable on February 13, 1879. The New York Herald's headline read "Insatiate Flames" and the article noted "A large quantity of hay and straw was known to be stored near the very spot from which the flames were issuing."

The firefighters' valiant efforts were split between extinguishing the inferno and to saving the horses. There were, in addition, dozens of expensive carriages and sleighs stored on the various levels of the structure. Three firefighters were injured, one of them Washington Ryer who was briefly buried when the roof caved in.

Tragically, while the firefighters managed to save the building from complete destruction, 70 horses, some of them quite valuable, were lost.

The same year of the Brigg's stable fire Napoleon LeBrun was appointed official architect for the New York City Fire Department. A year later, after his son Pierre joined him, his firm became N. LeBrun & Son. By 1895 when he stepped down, he and his son would be responsible for designing 42 fire department structures.

Among their last jobs was the refurbishing of Hook and Ladder 7's firehouse in 1893. The remodeling was so extensive that the Fire Departments 1894 report called it a "new building, rebuilt for Hook and Ladder Company No. 7."

The result was signature LeBrun. The stone-clad base followed the expected firehouse arrangement--a centered truck bay flanked by a doorway and window. The sparse decoration at this level relied on two carved shields with flowing ribbons below the dentiled cornice.

The upper two stories were faced in variegated Roman brick trimmed in limestone. A common feature in LeBrun designs was the central plaque, inscribed with pertinent construction information (the mayor, commissioner, etc.), flanked by decorative rondels that announced the date. Splayed lintels above the second floor windows and voussoirs above the third were executed in brick and enhanced with scrolled keystones. The pressed metal cornice featured an intricate frieze and a double row of brackets, the topmost of which terminated in lions' heads.

The members of Hook and Ladder No. 7 had scarcely settled into the refurbished firehouse before a frightening blaze broke out in a tenement house at No. 74 Pearl Street on the night of January 2, 1894. Fireman John P. Howe jumped from the moving truck and ran ahead to rescue the tenants.

John P. Howe was one of many members of the Company who earned medals for bravery. The Evening World, May 24, 1895 (copyright expired)

The Evening World reported "While carrying out Bridget Maloney an invalid, his hands and face were burned, but notwithstanding this Howe returned and saved Mrs. Eliza Keenan and her daughter Lillie."

Howe was involved in a nearly unbelievable act of heroism exactly two years later to the day. Fire erupted in the Geneva Club on Lexington Avenue, an organization of hotel employees. Several members lived in the upper floors of the three-story building.

John Howe was driving the truck and as he pulled up to the scene, according to the New-York Tribune, "There were faces at the windows of the upper floors where the occupants had been cut off from escape to the street. The lower rooms were all aflame."

The article noted "The spirited horses he was handling scarcely came to a halt before Howe had sprung from the truck." He banged on the door of the house next door and rushed upstairs to a window. He stretched his body across the gap between the buildings to reach Max Henshel, "who was at the window of the burning house begging for help."

Fireman Pearl held Howe's legs so he would not tumble down the gap between the buildings. Henshel was safely pulled through the window. Next came August Lang. And then Frederic Schmidt appeared. Behind him smoke and flames were enveloping the room and the Tribune said "he was desperate."

"Before Fireman Howe could get himself properly balanced to reach for the imperiled waiter, the latter sprang from the window ledge and threw his arms around the fireman's neck. The man's weight dragged Howe from the window-ledge, and it seemed certain that both men would be dashed to death on the pavement."

But Howe held on, and Pearl, still clutching his legs, "reached out and, by an almost superhuman effort, succeeded in drawing Schmidt through the window. He then helped Howe in."

In the meantime the other members of Hook and Ladder 7 were busy rescuing other residents. Steward Bergmann was stuck on the roof of the rear extension with his wife and child. They were carried down on a ladder by firemen. Two other occupants, a man and a woman, had jumped to the roof of the porch. Adelaide Junker suffered a sprained ankle; but both were carried down by fire fighters.

Hook and Ladder 7 responded to one of New York's greatest disasters in the early 20th century--the January 27, 1902 dynamite explosion being used in the construction of the subway on Park Avenue. Hundreds were injured, several killed and damage to buildings extended for blocks.

Fireman James Francis Kiernan found construction foreman Tubbs in the ruins. As he carried the man out, a second explosion occurred. The Evening World reported "The young fireman's arm was broken and he was blown four feet into the air, but he kept his head and got Tubbs safely out of danger."

Amazingly, according to the newspaper, this was just one of "a dozen escapes from death and [he] has saved a great number of lives." His cat-like defiance of death earned him the nickname "Lucky Jim."

The Evening World deemed Kiernan's luck complete in landing a pretty wife. September 29, 1902

Later that year the same newspaper reported on his upcoming wedding, saying his luck continued in managing to win the hand of Kathryn Rose Tynan. Kathryn, explained the newspaper, worked in a 23rd Street department store "and has such a reputation for beauty that she has attracted general attention among patrons of the store."

Press coverage routinely lauded Hook and Ladder 7 for its heroism and expertise. But that was not the case on February 22, 1903. A storm had covered the city streets in deep snow. Clearing the roads was, obviously, much more labor intensive than today. On the 21st when the firefighters were called to a blaze, only the avenues had been cleared.

The company's truck was pulled by three powerful horses, but they labored through the deep snow, becoming stuck several times on East 47th Street. The New-York Tribune reported that they "were badly used up" when they once again got stuck just before reaching Third Avenue.

The driver's solution was to whip them "furiously." When the horses still could not pull the truck from the snow, he climbed down "and lashed them from the front." The newspaper said "The lashing of the horses caused a crowd to gather, and several women and men expostulated with the firemen. They paid no attention, however, but continued to lash the rearing animals."

By coincidence, the Fire Department's chief veterinarian, Chief Shea, was heading downtown on the Second Avenue streetcar and saw what was going on. He ordered the men to stop, "and then patted and petted the animals until they recovered their good nature."

He then put the firemen to work. "They used their utmost strength to start the heavy truck, and succeed[ed] in doing so."

The company's truck was pulled by three powerful and handsome horses. The elevated train tracks in the background are, possibly, the Third Avenue el. photo via old-picture.com

It would not be many years, however before the horses were gone and Hook and Ladder 7 received its "Automobile Hook and Ladder Truck." Then in the spring of 1915 the fire department would have to replace it.

On February 17 that year Fireman Harry Flynn was driving the truck "at full speed" down Second Avenue to a fire on 19th Street. A streetcar driver, hearing the sirens, panicked and stopped short. To avoid a collision Flynn swerved and disaster followed.

The Evening World reported "The rear wheel of the big truck struck an elevate railroad pillar. The wheel was slewed around so that the axle was parallel with the body of the truck. Flynn was hurled to the ground, but was not hurt." It was the end of the shiny fire equipment. "The truck was put out of commission."

The year 1920 exemplified the heroics and the dangers of the job. On February 3 the men responded to a tenement fire on Fourth Avenue. Fireman Thomas Costigan found Agnes Butcher unconscious on the fourth floor and carried her to safety; and James Tubridy "forced his way" into the rear of the building to rescue "two hysterical girls," as described by The New York Herald.

A week later the company rushed to a fire in the Oliver Film Company on February 7. Motion picture film was made of celluloid, a highly flammable material that burned quickly and produced an extremely hot flame. When burned it produced poisonous gases and toxic smoke. Fireman James McMahon was overcome and was carried unconscious from the second floor.

And the following month, on March 8, the men faced an especially tricky blaze. Fire broke out in a middle car of a 10-car train on the Third Avenue Elevated. An aerial ladder was extended to the fire, but the men could not pour water on it until the electricity to the tracks was turned off. In the meantime residents, whose homes were mere feet from the tracks, worried that the delay would allow fire to spread.

Like most fire companies, Hook and Ladder 7 had a mascot. And theirs in 1937 was iconic--a black-spotted Dalmatian named Smoky. The New York Times noted on April 21 "Smoky, who is 3 years old, rides to fires on his company's truck and recognizes his company's alarm signal, jumping to his station like a veteran, according to his master, Fireman Robert Riley."

But on April 20 that year Smoky embarked on an adventure. He strolled out of the firehouse and headed east to Madison Avenue. Apparently the headquarters of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals looked inviting, so he dropped in.

The Times reported he "made himself at home in the lobby." He stayed there until officials tracked down his owners through his license tag. Society agent Tom McQuade then "escorted him home."

Members of the company would continue to receive commendation for their service throughout the decades. In 1951 Fireman Jacob H. Soffel, for instance, was awarded a medal for bravery.

Rather surprisingly, given the small scale and age of the building, Hook and Ladder Company 7 continued on in the 1893 firehouse until August 6, 1968, when it moved in with Engine Company 16 at No. 234 East 29th Street.

The firehouse was converted to photo studios and offices on the first and second floors, with a single-family duplex above. Then, in 1995, it was converted as the New York City Center of the Self Realization Fellowship, a religious movement founded by Paramahansa Yogananda, the author of Autobiography of a Yogi.

In renovating the structure, the group preserved LeBrun's stately exterior, so that it appears generally little changed from when Hook and Ladder Company 7 proudly moved back into its updated home in 1893.

• http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2017/08/napoleon-le-bruns-hook-ladder-no-7-217.html

 

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Napoleon Lebrun architect - FDNY Firehouses - Engine 13 - 99 Wooster Street - 1881 - former firehouse civilian use

Daytonian in Manhattan

Engine Company No. 13 -- No. 99 Wooster Street

Before 1865 New York City’s fire fighting was done by a disorganized collection of volunteer companies. When a fire broke out, young men from the neighborhood called “laddies” would scramble to the fire house. Nearby fire houses would often vie with one another to arrive at the fire first, or to become more skilled at extinguishing it. The volunteer groups gained a reputation as rowdy, boisterous gangs whose fire houses were essentially social clubs.

In the 1840s the Ward family lived in the house at No. 99 Wooster Street. Brothers James and Samuel shared an office at No. 270 Spring Street—James was a doctor and Samuel a druggist. Their widowed mother, Sarah, rented out a room in the house to carpenter Asher Clapp.

But in 1853 the house was gone, replaced by the firehouse of the volunteer Oceanus Engine Company No. 11. An 1859 roster reflected the blue-collar occupations of its men—including butcher, coach-maker, hackman, carpenter, oysterman, housesmith, hatter, cartman and stair-builder among them.

Fire department historian George W. Sheldon described the company’s elaborately-decorated Victorian engine in his 1888 The Story of the Volunteer Fire Department of the City of New York. “Painted dark blue, black, and gold; the back represented the burning of Troy and death of Achilles; drawn by 37 men, in same uniform.”

The devastating fire that destroyed Barnum’s Museum in 1865, along with pressure on the State Assembly by reformers, resulted in the Act of 1865 that coupled Brooklyn and New York with a paid, united “Metropolitan District” fire department. On November 2 that year it was announced that the Metropolitan Steam Engine Company No. 13 “with horses” had taken over the old Oceanus firehouse. W. H. Wilson was appointed foreman, earning him a salary of $800 a year. The company received a new engine and tender the following year.

By 1881 the old Oceanus house was both outdated and inadequate. The city opted to update the old structure. Two years earlier Napoleon LeBrun became the official architect of the New York City fire houses. In 1880 his son Pierre joined him in the business, creating the firm N. LeBrun & Son.

Now, in March 1881 the firm filed plans for a $10,500 make-over, including “interior alterations” and a one-story brick extension to the rear. Two months later the project was expanded with another $7,500 added to the plans. On June 25 the Fire Department requested proposals “for doing the work and furnishing the materials required in the demolishing and rebuilding of the front and two gable walls of the house of Engine Company No. 13, No. 99 Wooster Street.”

LeBrun & Son followed the typical firehouse pattern in what was essentially the rebuilding of the old structure. Its cast iron base was dominated by the centered truck bay. The upper stories were clad in red brick, trimmed in stone and terra cotta. At the second floor a wide floor-to-ceiling opening allowed hay and other supplies to be hoisted up and inside. While some of Napoleon LeBrun’s firehouses would border on the opulent; No. 99 Wooster Street was more utilitarian in design—its most striking feature being the quilt of floral terra cotta squares below the cornice.

While Engine Company No. 13 may have had a relatively undistinguished firehouse, the crew itself stood out. On November 12, 1887 the Mayor himself decorated Captain Daniel Lawler with the Stephenson gold medal in Union Square. The award was “for having the best disciplined and most efficient company in the department.” The Sun reported that the firemen’s “wives, daughters and sweethearts” were on hand; and that “Their nickel buttons shone like new silver quarters, and their gloves were white as snow. Back of them were the ‘machines’ with which they run, burnished to the highest attainable degree of brightness.”

Those machines and fire fighters would see terrifying blazes over the years. And the bravery of the men of Engine Company 13 would often entail their risking their lives. On January 20, 1893 an enormous fire destroyed the Rowland Storey & Sons’ storage warehouse at Washington and King Streets.

The following day The Evening World reported “The smoke was fearfully dense, although the fire had not ascended above the first floor, and the men had learned that there was oil stored in the warehouse, but they pressed on undismayed.”

Assistant Foreman Van Horne recounted “We were just about to cut a hole in the roof when we heard a dull thud and felt a trembling something like an earthquake. The boys knew what that means and scooted. The next second the west wall began to bulge and everybody yelled.”

Injured in the building collapse were Captain Daniel Lawler and firefighter Michael Wall.

Lawler would be back in the hospital following another conflagration on November 5, 1895. The fire destroyed two bank buildings at Bleecker Street and Broadway and damaged others. The intense heat drove firefighters back and some were overcome by the smoke and heat. Cable cars on Broadway were stopped.

The New-York Tribune reported “The firemen inside the building had barely got to work when a stairway which was above them and had been weakened by the fire fell suddenly. Several of the men were caught under the falling stairway and were hurt.”Among those injured was Fireman George Coleman, of Engine Company No. 13; but 38-year old Lawler “required more attention than any of the other patients last night on account of the multiplicity of his wounds,” said the newspaper.

On the night of May 11, 1903 Lieutenant George J. Irving was looking out of a top floor window at the firehouse when suddenly a window on the fifth floor of the factory building next door, at No. 97, blew out. Several other fire fighters were standing in front of the firehouse as thick smoke poured out of the building.

Upstairs, on the seventh floor, petticoat manufacturer Benjamin Lustgarten and two of his employees, Max Weissner and Benjamin Lerner, were still at work and were trapped. Lieutenant Irving ran to the roof of the firehouse and dropped a rope to the firefighters on the sidewalk, who tied a scaling ladder to it.

Irving hoisted it up and, floor by floor, ran the ladder up to the men who were gasping for fresh air. Soon other firefighters were on the roof with ladders and “Irving handed the men down to the firemen, who took them to the roof of the firehouse and to the street.” Although Lustgarten was partially overcome by smoke inhalation, he was revived.

Fire fighters here discovered another blaze on the block just after midnight on April 10, 1920. Fire had started on the second floor of the large factory building at Nos. 116-118 Wooster. As a “rescue party” led by Lieutenant Kilbride started up the fire escape in the rear of the building, windows on the upper floors blew out from the intense heat. Sharp shards of glass showered down on the men, all of whom were injured, most seriously Fireman John Millward whose left wrist was slashed.

He was attended to in the engine house by the Department physician who “stopped the flow of blood from severed veins by means of a tourniquet,” reported the New-York Tribune. As the other injured firemen were treated, their fellow fire fighters continued to fight the blaze—requiring a second and then a third alarm.

When the last sparks were extinguished, the damages to the building were estimated at around $50,000—around $600,000 today.

Prohibition was the indirect cause of a nearby fire on December 6, 1921. A private watchman saw flames coming from a grocery store in the ground floor of a tenement two blocks away at No. 101-103 Thompson Street at 4:30 a.m. and ran to the firehouse.

According to The Evening World the following day, when the men got there, they found “several members of the twenty-four families in the six-story building on the front fire escapes, insisting on going to the street by the ladder route” The fire had not blocked any of the hallways or stairs, but the residents refused to leave by any means other than ladders. So a separate unit, Truck No. 20, was summoned to run up ladders and those firemen assisted “to the street all who felt the necessity of being rescued.”

When fire fighters entered the cellar below the grocery store they found several liquor stills, and “three barrels of what appears to be hooch.” The Evening World said “A policeman was left at the store to get an explanation from the owner who, according to the sign, is G. Del Guidice.”

The newspaper took the opportunity to express its frustration with the residents. “There was no reason for anyone leaving, as a few gallons of water extinguished the fire before it had done much damage.”

One of the men at the fire that night was Lieutenant John J. Schoppmeyer, who had already had a brave and colorful past. He was a veteran of both the Spanish-American and Boxer Wars, and had served as a member of the New York City Police Department for a year before becoming a firefighter.

Six months after the Thompson Street fire, he was with Engine Company No. 13 at a dangerous blaze at No. 10 Jane Street on July 17, 1922. Inside the warehouse were not only shipments of German toys and “much rubber;” but large quantities of the chemicals used to make the flash powder used by photographers.

As firefighters battled the blaze, the chemicals ignited, causing an explosion that blew the roof off the building. At least 30 persons—firefighters, police and spectators—were injured. The body of John Schoppmeyer was found crushed under the debris.

Before the lieutenant’s casket was removed from his home on West 175th Street, 115 members of the Fire Department band filed past to pay their respects. Schoppmeyer had helped organize the group a few years earlier. As the coffin was taken into the Church of the Incarnation on St. Nicholas Avenue, more than 500 policemen and firefighters lined the way. Lt. John J Schoppmeyer received full military and department honors.

The Victorian firehouse on Wooster Street could not accommodate modern motorized vehicles and was decommissioned. In 1971 it was altered to accommodate the Gay Activist Alliance and a gay community center. The group named the building “The Firehouse.”

Founded by dissident members of the Gay Liberation Front two years earlier, the Gay Activist Alliance sought to “secure basic human rights, dignity and freedom for all gay people.” Its means to achieve that goal were highly controversial. Using loud, disrupting demonstrations called “zaps,” it disrupted public events and political speeches. Certain public dissatisfaction with the group culminated on October 15, 1974 when the Wooster Street headquarters was destroyed by an arsonist.

In 1988 the old firehouse was renovated to retail space throughout. N. LeBrun & Son’s startling makeover of 1881 survives surprisingly intact—a relic of a time when horse-drawn steam engines clattered through the Soho streets.

 

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Napoleon Lebrun architect - FDNY Firehouse - Engine 27 - 173 Franklin Street, Manhattan - 1882 - former firehouse civilian use

THE HATCHING CAT
True and Unusual Animal Tales of Old New York


The Engine Co. 27 firehouse at 173 Franklin Street (middle), erected in 1882, was designed by Napolean Le Brun & Son, a firm responsible for about 30 firehouses in New York City between 1880 and 1895. Some of the surviving features of this landmark building include an embellished iron lintel over the apparatus entrance, several wood sash windows, a foliate frieze above the third-story windows, and a faded sign noting “27 ENGINE 27.” After the building was decommissioned as a firehouse, it served as a welding shop. The building was most currently occupied by a gallery called Engine27.



Engine Co. 27 – North River Engine Co. 30

Prior to organizing as the Metropolitan Steam Engine Company No. 27 on October 16, 1865, the engine company was known as North River Engine Co. 30 under New York’s volunteer fire department. North River was organized July 15, 1858, by B.F. Grant, William F. Searing, William McGrew, and others from Eureka Hose Company No. 54. It was originally headquartered at 153 Franklin Street.

The newly organized Engine 27 was manned by Luke A. Murphy, foreman; Dewitt Beardsley, assistant foreman; James Davis, stoker; Charles Tucker, driver; Edward Kelly, William Stoker, John Stanley, John Murphy, William Mason, Samuel Heister, and Francis Walls, firemen. The company’s firehouse was located at 173 Franklin Street, where it remained (save for a brief relocation to 304 Washington Street in 1881) until the company disbanded on November 22, 1975.

FDNY history – Page 2 – The Hatching Cat

Posts about FDNY history written by The Hatching Cat

frenchhatchingcat.wordpress.com

 

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Napoleon Lebrun architect - FDNY Firehouse - Engine 28 - 604 E 11th Street, Manhattan - 1880 - former firehouse civilian use

Village Firehouse Architecture is HOT

This three-story firehouse was built in 1879 and designed by Napoleon LeBrun as Engine House No. 28 — one of LeBrun’s first firehouses after becoming the FDNY’s lead architect. The building utilizes a simple Neo-classical cornice and sandstone trim to ornament the facade. It has projections at the ends, acting like pilasters joining the ornamentation for the ground floor up to the brackets on the cornice. The ground floor still retains its original configuration, however, part of the large center door has been infilled with glass block. The building was converted to three floor-through residences, which in 2012 were asking $22,000/month in rent. More about the building can be found on our East Village Building Blocks website.

Village Firehouses Past and Present - Village Preservation

The city might at times feel like its on fire during the summer, but there have been times in the past when it has actually been. In the 1970s the Bronx was burning and Lower East Side was also suffering from fires and abandoned buildings. Before that, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire became...

gvshp.org

 

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Governors Island


US Army Corps of Engineers
New York District Website Website

FACT SHEET – Fort Jay Remaining Lands (Governors Island) NY

Published Feb. 19, 2020

Description: The property containing the former Fort Jay (now known as Governors Island/Governors Island National Monument) is a 172-acre site located in New York, New York. It was acquired by the US Government by donations from the State of New York in 1800, 1880, 1901 and 1903. The Continental Army installed defensive works on the island in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. From the post 1812 era until WWI, the mission of Fort Jay was the defense of New York Harbor, but it was used also as a recruiting and training center. From WWI until 1965 Fort Jay was the headquarters for the 2nd Corps and later the First Army. The property was improved with approximately 207 administrations, storage, housing and other structures including utilities. In 1965 the First Army terminated activities at Fort Jay. As per General Order on 30 June 1966 the property was discontinued as an Army installation. On 31 July 1966, the Secretary of the Army conveyed Fort Jay to the Secretary of Transportation for the use by the US Coast Guard, who were the principle users of the island until 1996. The island is currently owned by the National Park Service (NPS) and the Trust for Governors Island (TGI).

Governors Island is a 10-minute ferry ride from Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City. The National Park Service (NPS) manages the Governors Island National Monument (22 acres), containing Fort Jay, Castle Williams, and Dock 102. The City of New York through the Trust for Governors Island (TGI) manages the remaining 150 acres. Governor’s Island is open to the public for recreational and education pursuits year-round from May through October. The Hills, a scenic park on the southwestern corner of the island, opened to the public in the summer of 2016. In addition to NPS and TGI, the island is currently home to the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, a public high school that serves approx. 430 students; and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Arts Center, an artist studio residency program. The first commercial tenant on the island opened in 2017. Much of Governors Island is intended to be redeveloped in the future, for commercial, not-for-profit, and educational use.

https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Medi...et-fort-jay-remaining-lands-governors-island/

 

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Governors Island (continued)





NPS
Governors Island
National Monument
New York

Governors Island lies a few hundred yards off the southern tip of Manhattan, at the confluence of the Hudson and East Rivers in New York Harbor. The island's fortifications - Fort Jay and Castle Williams - served as an early outpost to protect New York City from enemy naval attack and were an integral part of a larger coastal defense network.

Fort Jay and Castle Williams were erected between 1796 and 1811 as part of the First and Second American Systems of Fortification. They are among the finest examples of defensive structures in use from the Renaissance to the American Civil War and sit within a larger National Historic Landmark District, surrounded by unparalleled views of the harbor and New York City skyline.

Governors Island was a military post and later a major command headquarters United States Army from 1794 until 1966. For the next 30 years, it was home to Atlantic Area Command, the U.S. Coast Guard's largest and most complex installation in the world.

In 2003, the island was sold and transferred to two parties: 22 acres, designated as the Governors Island National Monument and administered by the National Park Service; and 150 acres is administered by The Trust for Governors Island. Today, city and federal agencies are planning the future of this former military installation into new public parkland and a spectacular destination in New York Harbor.


https://www.nps.gov/gois/learn/historyculture/index.htm

 

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Governors Island (continued)





Ft. Jay

Fort Jay is a coastal star fort and the name of a former United States Army post on Governors Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. Fort Jay is the oldest existing defensive structure on the island, and was named for John Jay, a member of the Federalist Party, New York governor, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Secretary of State, and one of the founding fathers of the United States. It was built in 1794 to defend Upper New York Bay, but has served other purposes. From 1806 to 1904 it was named Fort Columbus, presumably for explorer Christopher Columbus. Today, the National Park Service administers Fort Jay and Castle Williams as the Governors Island National Monument.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Jay

 

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Governors Island (continued)


US Army era - From the post 1812 era until WWI, the mission of Fort Jay was the defense of New York Harbor, but it was used also as a recruiting and training center. From WWI until 1965 Fort Jay was the headquarters for the 2nd Corps and later the First Army.



1927 Governors Island barracks fire:

Fire started in temporary barracks and spread to 3 other buildings. FDNY responded with 3 fireboats, 4 engines and 1 ladder. High winds and low water pressure hampered firefighters. 3 firefighters, 8 soldiers and 3 Coast Guard members were injured.

Fire in barracks at Governor's Island, 1... | Stock Video | Pond5

Get this stock video and more royalty-free footage. Fire in barracks at Governor's... ✔️Best Price Guaranteed ✔️Simple licensing. Download Now ➡️

www.pond5.com

Ft Jay Fire Department - 1940s:



Chief William A. Fraser, a retired FDNY Lieutenant, became the first civilian Fire Chief at Fort Jay, Governors Island, NY.




1946 Mack:




http://www.firetrucks-atwar.com/F.html

 

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Governors Island (continued)


US Coast Guard era:

On 31 July 1966, the Secretary of the Army conveyed Fort Jay to the Secretary of Transportation for the use by the US Coast Guard, who were the principle users of the island until 1996. Governors Island was the largest USCG installation.


USCG Support Center NY apparatus 1966-1996 - obtained original Army Ft. Jay rigs and later additional apparatus to include former FDNY rigs.

 

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Governors Island (continued)


1996 - National Park Service (NPS) and the Trust for Governors Island (TGI) ownership of Governors Island from Department of Transportation (USCG).

Apparatus included:







2004 - Fire protection was transferred to FDNY from the Governors Island federal fire department.





2008 - An Island’s Fire Truck, Idle for Years, Goes Quickly on the Web



Credit...Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times
By Patrick McGeehan
Feb. 12, 2008

The red fire engine with the 100-foot-long extendable arm was called Super Truck. Left behind by the Coast Guard a decade ago, it sat on Governors Island in New York Harbor, unwanted by the firefighters stationed there and unavailable to others who coveted it from afar.

A small fire company at a veterans’ hospital in western New Jersey asked for it in 2004. But officers of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, the city-state entity that now oversees the island in New York Harbor, said the truck, though idle, was too valuable to give away.

Then, late last year, they decided to do what so many Americans have done with discarded stuff tucked away in their garages: They sought bids on the Internet. And to their great surprise they got an offer of more than $75,000, a bid they accepted last week.

The sale resulted from the posting of a simple ad on Craigslist, a Web site filled with classified ads for a broad array of merchandise but rarely any heavy-duty firefighting equipment.

The “for sale by owner” post was straightforward enough. It offered a 1993 Pierce aerial platform truck with 450-horsepower motor that it said had “not been used in several years.”

No mention was made of a price or of the truck’s location several hundred yards off the coast of Brooklyn.

But that was enough to catch the eye of Curvin Wolfgang, the chief of the East Prospect Fire Company in the exurbs of southern Pennsylvania near Lancaster.

Between answering the less-than-daily fire calls late last year, Chief Wolfgang was trolling the Internet for a replacement for his company’s 33-year-old workhorse, he said.

He punched “aerial truck for sale” into Google and up popped the Craigslist ad for the Governors Island engine.


https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/nyregion/12firetruck.html

 

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Governors Island (continued)

FDNY testing - Governors Island Wind-Driven Fire Test 2008;





2012 fire tests:

Live Fire Tests with FDNY Will Guide Improvements in Fire Department Tactics
July 11, 2012




Credit: FDNY Photo
The New York City Fire Department, NIST and Underwriters Laboratories set fire to 20 abandoned townhouses on Governors Island, New York, in a series of experiments to test the conventional wisdom on, and new tactics for, controlling fires and rescuing occupants inside burning homes.

In the name of science, but with aim of saving lives, preventing injuries and reducing property losses, members of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) spent much of the first two weeks in July setting fire to 20 abandoned townhouses on Governors Island, about a kilometer from the southern tip of Manhattan.

Live Fire Tests with FDNY Will Guide Improvements in Fire Department Tactics

In the name of science, but with aim of saving lives, preventing injuries and reducing property losses, members of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) s

www.nist.gov

 

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Governors Island (continued)


FDNY initially staffed the Governors Island firehouse. In 2009, Governors Island FDNY staffing was downgraded, with opposition.


DOWNTOWN EXPRESSNEWS

Reports of island firehouse savior were greatly exaggerated
July 16, 2009
By Julie Shapiro

City Councilmember Alan Gerson thought he had secured a coup for Lower Manhattan: During the city’s budget negotiations, the Fire Dept. promised to restore services at firehouses across the city.

Pleased, Gerson announced last week that two Downtown firehouses, Engine 4 on South St. and the station on Governors Island, would both reopen full-time.

But as it turned out, Gerson did not secure as much as he thought. While Engine 4 and other firehouses around the city received a reprieve, the Governors Island firehouse will remain closed, F.D.N.Y. said this week.

“I’m furious,” Gerson told Downtown Express Wednesday. “The Fire Dept. is playing games with words and lives.”

In January, the city closed the Governors Island firehouse and cut the nighttime hours of four other companies, including Engine 4. This spring, the mayor proposed further cuts that would have closed Engine 4 and others entirely.

During the negotiations for the 2010 budget, Gerson said the Fire Dept. agreed to provide “full coverage” at all the houses that were previously cut. Gerson thought “full coverage” on Governors Island meant reopening the firehouse full-time, but the Fire Dept. says that is not necessary.

Governors Island has no residents, but thousands of people visit on summer weekends and an artist residency program and a high school will soon bring even more people to the island year-round.

Until six months ago, three firefighters were posted on the island all the time. Since January, firefighters only staff the firehouse when more than 100 people are on the island. The rest of the time, first responders are a boat ride away, and the city estimates that it could take them half an hour to arrive.

“There should be no part of the city that is without emergency coverage,” Gerson said. “We’re going to continue to fight this.”

Steve Ritea, F.D.N.Y. spokesperson, said the island firehouse was used very infrequently, with only 12 calls in three years and no major fires.

The Governors Island firehouse closure will save almost $600,000 this year, Ritea said.

Elizabeth Case, a research associate with the Governors Island Alliance, was surprised to hear of the city’s decision.

“That’s incredible if they were to restore everything else and leave Governors Island out in the cold,” Case said. “It’s really unfortunate.”

Case is particularly concerned about not having firefighters on the island during construction and demolition operations in the off-season.

Peg Breen, president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, said it’s shortsighted of the city to put the island’s many wooden, historic buildings at risk of fire.

“Without those buildings, you’ve lost a lot of the draw of the island,” Breen said.

The absence of firefighters also poses a risk to the security guards posted on the island at night, who would not have fast access to emergency medical care, Gerson said.

The Governors Island Preservation and Education Corp., which runs the island, deferred questions to the city.

Pat Moore, chairperson of Community Board 1’s Quality of Life Committee, was glad to hear that the city was restoring service at Engine 4. She and others had worried that response times would increase after the city closed Engine 4 at night. Ladder 15, which shares the house, remained open full-time, and now Engine 4 is returning to full-time operation as well.

Moore also said she understood the city’s decision to only have firefighters on Governors Island when many people are there.

“We’ve all got to give up something in this economy,” Moore said. “We love the beautiful architecture [on Governors Island] and we would love to keep it, but what’s more important is people’s lives.”


https://www.amny.com/news/reports-of-island-firehouse-savior-were-greatly-exaggerated/

 

[mack]

Governors Island (continued)


Making Way for The Hills
JAN 8, 2014 11:23 PM

We said goodbye today to the firehouse on the south island as construction continues with The Hills project. Neither the chill nor the ice-carpeted site hindered the demolition, which began this morning. Two of the hills, Discovery Hill and Outlook Hill, will slope down and meet each other where the station used to stand. This is the first demolition since the implosion of building 877 and is another milestone towards completing the Park and Public Space Master Plan.

Clearing of the fire station will open up needed space for the Hills. The clearing of the firehouse will open up needed space for The Hills project.

The old Coast Guard firehouse was the base for FDNY operations on Governors Island since 2004, but not to worry, the FDNY has a new base of operations in the Island Warehouse District.

Making Way for The Hills | Governors Island (en-US)

We said goodbye today to the firehouse on the south island as construction continues with The Hills project. Neither the chill nor the ice-carpeted site hindere

govisland.com

 

[mack]

Governors Island (continued)


NYC Fire Wire
June 5, 2016

Governors Island Firehouse. This firehouse is only staffed on weekends during the day. 1st Battalion companies respond via ferry.





Access by Governors Island ferry:

 

[fdhistorian]

Battalion 57 was organized during the War Years to split the area and the workload of the 34th Battalion in Bedford Stuyvesant. The two battalions both existed for 20 years until 1989 when Battalion 34 was disbanded.

Battalion 57	Organized	206 Monroe St, Brooklyn	1969​	with Engine 235
Battalion 57	Temporary	with Ladder 102	2005​
Battalion 57	Temporary	with Ladder 102	2009​

 

[fdhistorian]

Companies in Battalion 57

1969 - 1975	Battalion 57	E210	E214	E219	E235			L111			R2
1975 - 1987	Battalion 57	E214	E217	E230	E235			L111
1987 - 1988	Battalion 57	E214	E217	E230	E235			L111			R2
1988 - 1989	Battalion 57	E214	E217	E230	E235			L111
1989 - 1995	Battalion 57	E209	E217	E219	E230	E235		L102	L105
1995 - 2003	Battalion 57	E209	E217	E219	E230	E235		L102	L105		R2
2003 - 2005	Battalion 57	E217	E219	E230	E235			L102	L105		Sq1
2005 -	Battalion 57	E217	E219	E230	E235			L102	L105

 

[mack]

I believe the Agnew Medal is endowed specifically to be awarded only to members of E 14.

Yes - Agnew Medal is the only FDNY medal designated to be awarded only to members assigned to one company - Engine 14.



- WNYF 1943 Issue 2

Also - Agnew, his father and his brother were active NYC volunteer firefighters before the paid department was established in 1865.