Historic Firehouses of Louisville

Built by the WPA in 1936, the Louisville Fire Department Headquarters is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Historic Firehouses of Louisville is a Thematic Resource (TR) Multiple Property Submission (MPS) on the National Register of Historic Places. The submission represents 18 historic fire stations, located in Louisville, Kentucky, which were added to the National Register in 1980–81 due to their historical and architectural merits.[1] [2]

History of firefighting in Louisville

Louisville's first fire brigades were established in 1780, two years after the city's creation. The first firehouses were volunteer fire departments scattered throughout the city, but on June 1, 1858 the city of Louisville took control, and replaced the hand engines with five steam engines and volunteers with paid staff. There were initially three fire stations, 65 professional firefighters, and 23 horses.[1][3][4]

Many of the early firehouses were demolished due to urban renewal; the oldest firehouse still standing was originally built as St. John's Church in 1848, but the city turned the two-story edifice of brick and cast iron located in Phoenix Hill into a firehouse in 1869.[1] Three additional remaining firehouses were built in the 1870s and 1880s (Steam Engine Co. #7 in Limerick (1871), Steam Engine Co. #10 in Butchertown (1873), and the Rogers Street Firehouse in Irish Hill (1883)).

Formed on October 7, 1871, as the Louisville Steam Engine Co. 7, Engine Company 7, at 6th & York Streets, is the oldest continuously operated firehouse in the United States.[5] Due to budget concerns, it is scheduled to close in January 2009, in hopes to save $543,000 from the city's budget.[6]

The most prominent of the firehouses built in the 1890s was the Fire Department Headquarters built in Downtown Louisville at 617 W. Jefferson Street in 1891. It is Richardsonian Romanesque in style, as it was built by the McDonald Brothers, who also made the Kentucky National Bank and Norton's Warehouse buildings in downtown Louisville.[1]

The current fire department headquarters, at 1135 W. Jefferson Street (just outside downtown Louisville), was built in 1936 by the WPA. This limestone edifice is one of the few buildings in Louisville built in the Art Deco style.[1]

Properties in Historic Firehouses of Louisville TR

Landmark name Image Date listed Location City or Town Summary
1 Fire Department Headquarters November 7, 1981 1135 W. Jefferson St.
38°14′37″N 85°47′9″W / 38.24361°N 85.78583°W / 38.24361; -85.78583 (Fire Department Headquarters)
Louisville
2 Firehouse No. 13 March 10, 1981 100 N. 34th St.
38°15′44″N 85°48′25″W / 38.26222°N 85.80694°W / 38.26222; -85.80694 (Firehouse No. 13)
Louisville
3 Hook and Ladder Company No. 2 November 7, 1980 221 S. Hancock St.
38°15′11″N 85°44′31″W / 38.25306°N 85.74194°W / 38.25306; -85.74194 (Hook and Ladder Company No. 2)
Louisville
4 Hook and Ladder Company No. 3 November 7, 1980 Frankfort Ave. and Pope St.
38°15′25″N 85°43′0″W / 38.25694°N 85.71667°W / 38.25694; -85.71667 (Hook and Ladder Company No. 3)
Louisville
5 Hook and Ladder Company No. 4 November 7, 1980 2301 Jefferson St.
38°15′28″N 85°47′22″W / 38.25778°N 85.78944°W / 38.25778; -85.78944 (Hook and Ladder Company No. 4)
Louisville
6 Hook and Ladder Company No. 5 November 7, 1980 1824 Garland Ave.
38°15′15″N 85°41′44″W / 38.25417°N 85.69556°W / 38.25417; -85.69556 (Hook and Ladder Company No. 5)
Louisville
7 Steam Engine Company No. 10 November 7, 1980 1419 E. Washington
38°15′29″N 85°43′36″W / 38.25806°N 85.72667°W / 38.25806; -85.72667 (Steam Engine Company No. 10)
Louisville
8 Steam Engine Company No. 11 November 7, 1980 1122 Rogers
38°14′46″N 85°43′38″W / 38.24611°N 85.72722°W / 38.24611; -85.72722 (Steam Engine Company No. 11)
Louisville
9 Steam Engine Company No. 18 November 7, 1980 2600 S. 4th St.
38°13′33″N 85°45′54″W / 38.22583°N 85.76500°W / 38.22583; -85.76500 (Steam Engine Company No. 18)
Louisville
10 Steam Engine Company No. 2 November 7, 1980 617-621 W. Jefferson St.
38°15′16″N 85°45′41″W / 38.25444°N 85.76139°W / 38.25444; -85.76139 (Steam Engine Company No. 2)
Louisville
11 Steam Engine Company No. 20 November 7, 1980 1330 Bardstown Rd.
38°13′48″N 85°45′1″W / 38.23000°N 85.75028°W / 38.23000; -85.75028 (Steam Engine Company No. 20)
Louisville
12 Steam Engine Company No. 20 November 7, 1980 1735 Bardstown Rd.
38°12′41″N 85°45′52″W / 38.21139°N 85.76444°W / 38.21139; -85.76444 (Steam Engine Company No. 20)
Louisville
13 Steam Engine Company No. 21 November 7, 1980 1761 Frankfort Ave.
38°14′20″N 85°48′2″W / 38.23889°N 85.80056°W / 38.23889; -85.80056 (Steam Engine Company No. 21)
Louisville
14 Steam Engine Company No. 22 November 7, 1980 37th and Broadway
38°14′4″N 85°42′59″W / 38.23444°N 85.71639°W / 38.23444; -85.71639 (Steam Engine Company No. 22)
Louisville
15 Steam Engine Company No. 3 November 7, 1980 802-804 E. Main St.
38°15′16″N 85°44′14″W / 38.25444°N 85.73722°W / 38.25444; -85.73722 (Steam Engine Company No. 3)
Louisville
16 Steam Engine Company No. 4 November 7, 1980 1024 Logan St.
38°14′10″N 85°44′23″W / 38.23611°N 85.73972°W / 38.23611; -85.73972 (Steam Engine Company No. 4)
Louisville
17 Steam Engine Company No. 7 November 7, 1980 821 S. 6th St.
38°14′34″N 85°45′43″W / 38.24278°N 85.76194°W / 38.24278; -85.76194 (Steam Engine Company No. 7)
Louisville
18 Steam Engine Company No.4 November 7, 1980 1617 W. Main St.
38°15′33″N 85°46′39″W / 38.25917°N 85.77750°W / 38.25917; -85.77750 (Steam Engine Company No.4)
Louisville

See also

References

External links

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