Landmarks Preservation Commission June 20, 2000, Designation List 315 LP-2046

Fire House, Hook and Ladder 17 (also now Engine Company 60) 341 East 143rd Street, . Built 1906-07; Michael J. Garvin, architect.

Landmark Site: Borough of the Bronx Tax Map Block 2306, Lot 52

On December 14, 1999, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposed designation as a Landmark of the Fire House, Hook and Ladder 17 (also now Engine Company 60) and the proposed designation of the related Landmark Site (Item No. 5). The hearing had been duly advertised in accordance with the provisions of law. There were three speakers in favor of designation: representatives of the Fire Department of the City of , the Bronx Landmarks Task Force and the Historic Districts Council. There were no speakers in opposition to designation.

Summary This firehouse was constructed in 1906-07 to accommodate Hook and Ladder Company 17, which was organized in 1874 to serve the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. One of the first paid firefighting companies in this neighborhood, Ladder 17 replaced an earlier volunteer force, the J.& L. Mott Ladder 2 Company. This brick and stone building, designed by Michael J. Garvin, provided a larger facility for this densely-populated section of the Bronx. Garvin served as Bronx County's first Commissioner of Buildings and also designed the Bronx County Courthouse (a designated Landmark). Incorporating design elements from the prevailing classical style, Garvin created a solid, three-bay structure with rusticated end piers, carved stone ornament, and a strong cornice, all of which served to anchor the building to the street, as well as to provide an important sense ofcivic monumentality for the Bronx. In 1948, Engine Company 60, which had been organized in 1895 at 352 East 137th Street, was reassigned to this location and has continued to share the facility with Ladder 17. DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS

Firefighting in New York' Bronx in 1874. New techniques and equipment, Even in the colonial period, the government ofNew including taller ladders and stronger steam engines, York took the possibility of fire very seriously. Under increased the department's efficiency, as did the Dutch rule all men were expected to participate in establishment, in 1883, of a training academy for firefighting activities. After the English took over, the personnel. The growth of the city during this period Common Council organized a force ofthirty volunteer placed severe demands on the fire department to firefighters in 173 7. They operated two Newsham hand provide services, and in response the department pumpers that had recently been imported from London. undertook an ambitious building campaign. The area By 1798, the Fire Department ofthe City ofNew York served by the FDNY nearly doubled after consolidation (FDNY), under the supervision ofa chiefengineer and in 1898, when the departments in Brooklyn and six subordinates, was officially established by an act of numerous communities in Queens and Staten Island the state legislature. were incorporated into the city. After the turn of the As the city grew, this force was augmented by new century, the Fire Department acquired more modern volunteer companies. In spite of growing numbers of apparatus and motorized vehicles, reflecting the need firefighters and improvements in hoses and water for faster response to fires in taller buildings. supplies, fire was a significant threat in an increasingly Throughout the twentieth century, the department has densely built up city. Ofparticular significance was the endeavored to keep up with the evolving city and its "Great Fire" of December 16-17, 1835, which caused firefighting needs. more damage to property than any other event in New York City. The damages resulting from several major Firehouse Design3 fires which occurred between 1800 and 1850 led to the By the early twentieth century, the firehouse as a establishment ofa building code, and an increase in the building type had evolved from the wooden storage number of firemen from 600 in 1800 to more than shed used during the seventeenth century to an 4,000 in 1865. Despite rapid growth, the department imposing architectural expression of civic character. was often criticized for poor performance.2 Intense As early as 1853, Marriott Field had argued in his City competition between companies began to hinder Architecture: Designs for Dwelling Houses, Stores, firefighting with frequent brawls and acts of sabotage, Hotels, etc. for symbolic architectural expression in often at the scenes of fires. During the Civil War, municipal buildings, including firehouses. The 1854 when fire personnel became harder to retain, public Fireman's Hall,4 with its highly symbolic support grew for the creation of a professional ornamentation reflected this approach, using firefighting force, similar to that which had been flambeaux, hooks, ladders, and trumpets for its established in other cities and to the professional police ornament. 5 force that had been created in New York in 1845. Between 1880 and 1895, Napoleon LeBrun & Son In May 1865, the New York State Legislature served as the official architectural firm for the fire established the Metropolitan Fire District, comprising department, designing forty-two firehouses in a massive the cities of New York (south of 86'h Street) and effort to modernize the facilities and to accommodate Brooklyn. The act abolished the volunteer system and the growing population ofthe city. Although the firm's created the Metropolitan Fire Department, a paid earliest designs were relatively simple, later buildings professional force under the jurisdiction of the state were more distinguished and more clearly identifiable government. By the end of the year, the city's 124 as firehouses. volunteer companies with more than 4,000 men had While the basic function and requirements of the retired or disbanded, to be replaced by thirty-three firehouse were established early in its history, LeBrun engine companies and twelve ladder companies is credited with standardizing the program, and operated by a force of 500 men. Immediate introducing some minor, but important, innovations in improvements included the use of more steam engines, the plan. Placing the horse stalls in the main paii ofthe horses and a somewhat reliable telegraph system. A ground floor to reduce the time needed for hitching military model was adopted for the firefighters, which horses to the apparatus was one such innovation.6 involved the use ofspecialization, discipline, and merit. Firehouses were usually located on mid-block sites By 1870, regular service was extended to the because these were less expensive than more prominent "suburban districts" north of 86'h Street and expanded corner sites. Since the sites were narrow, firehouses sti fl farther north after the annexation of pa1is of the tended to be three stories ta! l, with the apparatus on the

2 ground story and rooms for the company, including frequency in the 1890s; and to complete the dormitory, kitchen and captain's office, above. picture, various industrial and manufacturing After 1895, the department commissioned a establishments along the neighborhood's number of well-known architects to design firehouses. southern fringe. 8 Influenced by the classical revival which was highly The population of the Bronx grew rapidly. In popular throughout the country, New York firms such 1890, there were 89,000 people living in the area of as Hoppin & Koen, Flagg & Chambers, and Horgan & the Bronx known as the North Side; ten years later it Slatterly created facades with bold, classical style had more than doubled to over 200,000. By 1915, the designs. number had increased threefold, to 616,000.9 As the population and number of new buildings increased, 7 Growth of The Bronx protection from the ever present danger of fire became The site of Hook and Ladder 17 was originally part increasingly important. The firefighters of Hook and of the land purchased by two English brothers, Richard Ladder 17 had an vital role in the Mott Haven and Lewis Morris in 1670. Their extensive holdings in community. the area became known as Morrisania, and formed part of Westchester County during the late eighteenth and most of the nineteenth centuries. In 1828, Jordan L. Hook and Ladder Company 17 Mott, inventor ofthe coal-burning stove, bought a large In the mid-nineteenth century, as the Mott Haven tract ofland in the southwestern part ofMorrisania and Iron Works and the associated residential development established the Mott Haven Iron Works on the Harlem expanded, fire protection in Mott Haven became more 1 River at Third A venue and l 34 h Street. The area important. A volunteer company, J. & L. Mott Ladder around the business was developed with houses for 2, was established in a three-story wooden building at Mott and his workers and became known as Mott 2608 Third A venue. With the annexation of this Haven. Even though the larger area of Morrisania section of the Bronx to New York in 1874, the continued as a quiet, rural district, the section of Mott volunteer squad was disbanded and replaced with Hook Haven developed more rapidly because of the and Ladder 17, at the same location. 10 In 1877, Hook expansion of the iron works and the advent of other and ladder 17 moved into a rented, four-story, brick industrial enterprises attracted by the Mott Haven stable three blocks away, at 589 East l 43'd Street, near Canal, which led from the Harlem River north to 1381h Third A venue. 11 By 1891 , Ladder 17 had twelve men Street. The New York & Harlem Railroad, and officers stationed at this site, with two horses, and incorporated in 1831, expanded over the Harlem River one roller-frame hook-and-ladder truck with a fifty-foot in 1840, bringing goods and people to the industrial extension ladder. That year they fought 60 fires, out of community of Mott Haven. As the railroads and the total 158 fires that occurred in the entire lower streetcars crossed the area, beginning in the 1860s, Bronx. 12 The company has remained on the same site streets were laid out and land speculation began in in the Bronx for more than 120 years, moving out only earnest. . from April 1906 to September 1907, while the current In 1874, the townships ofMorrisania, West Farms firehouse was under construction. During that period and Kingsbridge split from Westchester County and the company worked out of 358 Alexander A venue. 13 1 became the 23rd and 24 h wards of the City of New In 1907, Hook and Ladder 17 moved into a new, York. This area of the Bronx became known as the two-bay firehouse, designed by Michael J. Garvin. The Annexed District. Beginning in the early 1880s, booster two bays allowed sufficient room for a second section organizations such as the North Side Association of the ladder company, Ladder 17-2, which was advocated for infrastructure improvements; streets were organized on March 1, 1907. 14 Ladder Company 17-2 paved, sewers dug, and mass transit lines brought the was disbanded in 1915, and later reorganized from elevated trains to the Bronx. The el spurred tenement 1970 until 1974, during a period of a large number of construction. fires in the . Rescue Company 3 occupied By 1897, just a decade after the el began the second bay from its initial organization in June 1, operation, the once vacant blocks east ofThird 1931 until it moved to a different location in 1948. A venue were almost completely built over At that time, Engine Company 60 relocated to 341- with solid brick buildings. This area held a 343 East 143 'd Street, joining Ladder Company 17. 15 mixture of building types: single-family town Engine Company 60 has remained at this site on 143'd houses built in the late 1880s; multi-story Street since 1948 and joined with the members of apartment houses, built with increasing Ladder Company 17 in 1970 to form "the Green

3 Berets," an identifying symbol used by the company geometric design that fronts the second story windows. and worn during parades. Carved stone posts with incised panel designs are located at each end ofthis railing. Recent signs with the Michael J. Garvin (1861-1918)16 words "Engine Company 60, 100 Years of Service," Born in Morrisania, Michael John Garvin lived in "Ladder Company 17, 125 Years of Service" have the Bronx all his life. He was educated in local public been hung on this railing. Each of the three large schools and at College. In 1885, Garvin windows at the second story has double-hung window was associated with August Schmidt, before sash and is topped by a continuous stone band course at establishing his own architectural and civil engineering the lintel level. Above the lintel, at each window is a office at 3307 Third A venue. He served as the first half-round brick arch with a plain stone keystone. Commissioner of Buildings for the Bronx and was the Within each arch, the carved stone ornament is borough's first Under-Sheriff, as well as Executive comprised of an oval disk surrounded by a oak leaf Member of the Samoset Democratic Club. Garvin was swag. Small, carved foliate designs are located at the a member of several local political organizations and is impost level on each side of the windows. The third best known as the architect of the Bronx County story has three, tripartite windows, each with double­ Courthouse located at the intersection of East 161" hung sash and a fixed transom above each section. Street and Third Avenue (1905-15, a designated New Narrow, ornamented metal piers subdivide the sections York City Landmark).17 of each window. A continuous stone sill at this level is marked by carved foliate motifs in a square Description arrangement at the piers between each window. The station house for Ladder Company 17 sits Separate iron railings front the windows of each bay. among blocks of tall, modern housing developments. A broad stone frieze tops the main section of the The only other buildings remaining from the period of building and is embossed with the words: "Hook & its construction are the few stores to the west, toward Ladder 17." Above this is a projecting, modillioned Alexander A venue. stone cornice supported on each end by elaborately Wide, rusticated piers rise on each side of the carved, paired consoles which flank carved shields. building and serve, along with the broad cornice and A narrow stone parapet with squared chimneys on each the stone water table, as a frame for the three bays and end caps the building. three stories of the front facade. Two wide vehicle The eastern elevation faces a parking lot and is entrances and a smaller, central pedestrian entrance on thus visible from the street. It is faced with plain brick. the ground story are set within rusticated brickwork and Near the rear of the facade is a small service door topped by brick voussoirs with stone keystones. A behind a simple shed. On the western side, the plain bronze plaque with the names of fire department brick facade is visible over the low commercial personnel at the time ofconstruction is located over the buildings which are next to the firehouse. pedestrian door. 18 Smaller signs with the words "Engine Company 60,"" Battalion 14," and "Ladder Company 17" are located over the voussoirs over each door. A Report prepared by modillioned stone cornice runs across the entire Virginia Kurshan building, separating the first and second stories. It is Research Department supported on each end by elaborate consoles and carries a continuous iron railing with a delicate

NOTES

1. Information for this section came from the following: Donald J. Cannon, "Firefighting," Th e Encyclopedia of New York City, ed. Kenneth Jackson (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1995); Augustine Costello, Our firemen, A History of the New York fire departments, volunteer and paid (New York: A.E. Costello, 1887); Kenneth Holcomb Dunshee, As You Pass By (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1940); Landmarks Preservation Commission, Engine Company No. 71 Ladder Company No. I (LP-1719), report prepared by Charles Savage (New York: City ofNew York, 1993); LPC, Engine Company 47 (LP-1962) report prepared by

4 Laura Hansen (NY: City of NY, 1997); LPC, Fire Engine Company No. 84 and Hook & Ladder Company No. 34 (LP-1863) report prepared by Laura Hansen (NY: City of NY, 1997); LPC, Fire Engine Company 55 (LP- 1987) report prepared by Matthew Postal (NY: City of NY, 1998); Fire Engine Company 289, Ladder Company 138 (LP- 2035) report prepared by Matthew Postal (NY: City of NY, 1999); Lowell M. Limpus, History ofthe New York Fire Department (New York, Dutton, 1940).

2. Firemen often served for various reasons in addition to their desire to help their city; participation in fire companies was seen as a starting point for political careers. Seven mayors elected after 1835 had initially served as firefighters.

3. Information in this section comes, in part from the following sources: LPC, Fire Engine Company No. 84 and Hook & Ladder Company No. 34 (LP-1863); LPC, Fire Engine Co. 55 (LP-1987); Robert A.M. Stem, et al, New York 1900 (New York: Rizzoli, 1983); U.S. Department of the Interior: Heritage, Conservation, and Recreation Services, National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, "New York City Firehouses: National Register Thematic Group" (Form prepared by Christopher Gray for the New York City Landmarks Conservancy, 1980); Rebecca Zurier, The American Firehouse, An Architectural and Social History (New York: Abbeville Press, 1982). 4. This building, located at 153-57 Mercer Street, within the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District, no longer functions as a firehouse.

5. In an attempt to remove the political influence of Tammany Hall on the Fire Department, the Common Council banned the construction of new buildings in the 1860s. It was not until after the professionalization of the fire department that money was again expended on the construction of these desperately-needed civic structures, with their appropriately impressive ornament.

6. LeBrun is also credited with the creation of vertical hose-drying towers to accommodate this necessary activity in a space-saving manner.

7. The information in this section was derived, in part from: Stephen Jenkins, The Story ofthe Bronx 1639-1912 (New York and London: The Knickerbocker press, 1912); James L. Wells, Louis F. Hafffen, and Josiah A. Briggs, eds., The Bronx and Its People: A History 1609-1927 (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1927); and LPC, Mott Haven East Historic District Designation Report (LP-1899) (NY: City of New York, 1994), report prepared by Katharine E. Khan.

8. Evelyn Gonzalez, "From Suburb to City: The Development of the Bronx, 1890-1940," in Building a Borough: Architecture and Planning in the Bronx, 1890-1940 (NY: The Bronx Museum of Art, 1986), 8-18. 9. Gonzalez, 8, 17.

10. According to the Fire Department Annual Report for 1874, Hook and Ladder 17 was founded on January I, 1874. 11. The firehouse is shown on the Bromley map of 1893 at No. 589 East 143'ct Street, at the same location as today. Due to a street renumbering early in the twentieth century, the number on East 143rct Street was changed to 141-143.

12. Ibid, 1891.

13. Information supplied by Lt. Dan Maye of the fire department library.

14. The building also housed two additional horses used by the telegraph service.

15. Organized on January 1, 1895, Engine Company 60 had been housed in a small station designed by Napoleon LeBrun and Sons, at 606 East 137'h Street. Initially, the company had ten men, who operated a Lafrance fire engine with a crane neck frame and a nest tube boiler, and participated in 19 fires during their first year. Annual Report, 1895.

5 16. Information in this section comes primarily from : "Bronx Upbuilder Dies," The New York Times (Sept. 2, 1918), and Denis Steadman Francis, Architects in Practice, New York City, 1840-1900 (NY: Committee for the Preservation of Architectural Records, 1979).

17. Although Garvin received the commission for this building, the actual design work was carried out by Oscar Bleumner, who had receive his architectural training in Europe and is best known as a pioneer of modem American painting. See LPC, Bronx Borough Courthouse Designation Report (LP-1076) (NY: City ofNew York, 1981).

18. These include: Francis J. Lantry, Fire Commissioner; Hugh Bonner and Charles C. Wise, Deputy Fire Commissioners; Edward F. Crocker, Chief of Department; Alexander Stephens, Superintendent of Buildings; Alfred M. Downes, Secretary; Michael J. Garvin Architect; and Alfred Nugent's Son, Contractor.

6 FINDINGS AND DESIGNATION

On the basis of a careful consideration of the history, the architecture, and other features of this building, the Landmarks Preservation Commission finds that the Fire House, Hook and Ladder 17 (now also Engine Company 60) has a special character, and a special historical and aesthetic interest and value as part ofthe development, heritage, and cultural characteristics ofNew York City.

The Commission further finds that, among its important qualities, the Fire House, Hook and Ladder 17 (now also Engine Company 60) was constructed in 1906-07 on the site of an earlier station, to house one ofthe oldest professional firefighting companies in the Bronx, Hook and Ladder 17; that this company was organized in 1874, the year that New York City annexed the Bronx and paid companies replaced the earlier volunteer groups; that, in addition to Ladder 17, this two-bay firehouse also housed (for a period of time) a second ladder company (Ladder 17-2), and a rescue unit (Rescue 3), and was joined permanently in 1948 by Engine Company 60, which had been organi.zed in 1895 and previously located in a smaller station on Third A venue; that the classically­ omamented fire house was designed by architect Michael J. Garvin, the Bronx's first Commissioner of Buildings and designer of the Bronx County Courthouse; that its brick and stone facade is enlivened by stone bandcourses, carved stone shields, foliate swags, and brick-trimmed arches over the windows marked by carved disks and swags; that the rusticated end piers and substantial stone cornice frame the facade and anchor the building firmly to its site; that this firehouse was constructed in response to a growing population in this area of the Bronx known as Mott Haven, and is a rare surviving building in this area from the early twentieth century period of Bronx history.

Accordingly, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 74, Section 3020 of the Charter of the City of New York and Chapter 3 of Title 25 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designates as a Landmark the Fire House, Hook and Ladder 17 (now also Engine Company 60), 341-343 East l 43'd Street, The Bronx, and designates Borough of the Bronx Tax Map Block 2306, Lot 52 as its Landmark Site.

7 Fire House, Hook and Ladder 17 (also now Engine Company 60) 341 East 143'd Street, The Bronx Photo: Carl Forster Fire House, Hook and Ladder 17 (now also Engine Company 60) Details

Photos: Carl Forster Fire House, Hook and Ladder 17 (now also Engine Company 60) Ornamental Detail

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Fire House, Hook and Ladder 17 (also now Engine Company 60) 341 East 143'd Street, The Bronx Borough of the Bronx Tax Map Block 2306, Lot 52 Source: Department ofF inance, City Surveyor, Tax Map