History and architecture
Erected in 1884, Fire Engine Company No. 53 was designed by the prominent firm of Napoleon LeBrun & Sons, architects for the Fire Department between 1879 and 1895. Fire Engine Company No. 53 is an excellent example of N. LeBrun & Sons’ numerous mid-block firehouses, reflecting the firm’s attention to materials, stylistic detail, plan and setting. Napoleon LeBrun, who had established his firm in New York City in 1864, achieved renown as a designer of office buildings, including those for Home Life Insurance Company, and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
LeBrun & Sons helped to define the Fire Department’s expression of civic architecture, both functionally and symbolically, in more than forty buildings. Built during the early period of intensive growth in northern Manhattan, this firehouse represents the city’s commitment to the civic character of essential municipal services. The tenure of the LeBrun firm with the Fire Department coincided with a campaign to provide a strong municipal presence through an increase in public building projects.
During this era, it was often the practice of architects working for the city to adapt the same design for different locations, as an economical and rapid means of creating public buildings that also clearly identified their civic function. Fire Engine Company No. 15 built in 1883-34, at 29 Henry Street, and Fire Engine Company No. 54 built in 1888, at 304 West 47th Street, have virtually identical facades to Fire Engine Company No. 53.
Like most late nineteenth-century New York City firehouses, Fire Engine Company No. 53 has a large central opening at the ground level, flanked by smaller doorways. The design incorporates elements of the Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival styles. The cast-iron trabeated base is enlivened by foliate capitals incorporating sunflowers and torches.
Molded brick panels above the windows and terra-cotta medallions in the form of stylized sunflowers adorning the frieze below the cornice are among the Queen Anne motifs of the design. At the roofline stylized console brackets executed in corbelled brick support small pedimented forms adorned with sunbursts.
The building was in use as a fire station until 1974, and is currently privately owned by Manhattan Community Access Corporation.
Sources and further reading
This history comes from the Landmarks app’s historical catalog. Names and building uses may reflect the period described.