HISTORIC ENGINE COMPANY NO. 29
ABOUT THE BUILDING
Engine Company No. 29 stands at 1221-1225 N. 4th Street in the Kensington neighborhood of northeast Philadelphia. The 3-story building has brownstone cladding on the 1st floor with brown, Roman brick and terra cotta detailing above. It was constructed in 1895 and is considered an intact and rare example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Philadelphia. Built during the “Golden Age of fire house design”, it was the work of prolific Philadelphia architect John Torrey Windrim (1866-1934), who was particularly well known for his contributions to public buildings in the city.
The building was constructed not only during a period of significant architectural achievement in fire house design but also during a period of significant growth and formalization of the Philadelphia City fire department. The building is consequently representative of a unique period of firehouse history in Philadelphia.
Engine Company No. 29 retains its integrity, as both the overall form and defining architectural features remain intact since the time of construction. Although the equipment, furnishings and people have long since departed, the detailed architectural fabric and intact finishes effectively relay the sense of place and the notable industrial history of once prominent manufacturers.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF FIRE HOUSE DESIGN
The history of firefighting in Philadelphia can be described as the development of smaller, volunteer organizations into a more powerful and professional paid organization. Although fire prevention laws were mandated in Philadelphia as early as 1695, it was not until 1736 that Benjamin Franklin established the Union Fire Company, which was the city’s first volunteer entity. From that point until 1870, fire stations in Philadelphia operated as independent entities, which often had significant rivalries and were frequently adopting ways to “outdo” one another.
Engine Company No. 29 was organized on December 5, 1883 with (12) twelve employees and was originally located at 1048 N Lawrence Street (now demolished). In May 1894, current lot, located at 1221 N. 4th Street, was purchased for $13,000 and the following year, the new building was completed at a cost of $30,611.07. The space was shared with Ladder Company 7 (Known as Truck G in 1893, which also started on Lawrence Street) and the companies worked together within the Firehouse.
There was a typical configuration for fire houses during this period, and at the time, Engine Company No. 29 was described as ““one of the finest and most thoroughly equipped in the city.”
FIRST FLOOR | Apparatus Floor
The typical layout for the 1st floor contained the apparatus of the Engine Company and would have held the vehicles and the horses. Although the exact configuration is not known, it is likely that there would have been space for the horse harnesses that would have hung from the ceiling closest to the entrance doors along 4th Street.
Horses were used until about 1923 and their stables were located towards the rear of the building, possibly along the side. The rear lot was likely used as an area for the horses to graze.
The building has three large doors because there would have been three vehicles housed within the building. Typical vehicles for this era would be:
- A Metropolitan Steam Fire Engine (in 1916 a “tractor” was added to the front and horses were no longer used; in 1926 they went from the steamers to a LaFrance combination hose and chemical wagon; in 1954-1958 a GMC Autocar was used)
- A hose carrier (pulled by 1 horse) and then updated to hose wagon (pulled by 2 horses)
- Ladder truck
SECOND FLOOR | Dormitories and Offices
The 2nd floor had a large main sleeping room, private rooms for the two foremen, back rooms, lavatories and sitting rooms.
THIRD FLOOR | Storage and Private Quarters
The 3rd floor contained a large gymnasium, hay storage room for horses, drying room and comfortable quarters for the District Engineer.
By the late 1970s, changes to equipment and procedures, in particular the relationship between the size of the trucks and the size of the existing openings, meant that historic firehouses ultimately became obsolete. The building consequently closed in 1979 when a new station was built at N. 4th Street and W. Girard Avenue.
ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY
A Brief Review of Richardsonian Romanesque Design
Romanesque architecture is a Medieval style that dates to around the 11th century. Characterized by continuous round arches and heavy masonry facades, the Romanesque style is typically seen on religious and municipal buildings. In the mid-19th century, as part of a larger Romantic movement toward revivalist styles, including Renaissance Revival, Gothic Revival and Colonial Revival styles, Romanesque Revival style architecture rose to prominence. In general, Romanesque Revival style adapted the archetypal components of the Romanesque style to be compatible with late 19th century programmatic requirements.
As a style, Romanesque Revival architecture did not gain a following until it was reimagined by Henry Hobson Richardson. Richardson, after having attended Harvard University and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, reimagined the style by incorporating other historic references, including Italian palazzos and Byzantine churches. It was through this reinterpretation of the style that it gained a widespread application on public, educational and religious buildings.
Aesthetically, Richardson treated each building as a single, masonry volume with uniformly warm colors, round arches and large, simple shapes. Secondary characteristics included decorative detailing, such as colonettes, semicircular windows, coursing, Romanesque carvings, punctured roof lines, squat columns, round towers, rustication, partial symmetry and polychromatic plaques. Although the Richardsonian Romanesque style is underrepresented in Philadelphia, Engine Company No. 29 is an archetypal example of the form. It presents a fortress-like façade with rusticated masonry, round arches, rectangular windows, asymmetrical tower projections, clustered columns, a semicircular window and brownstone, terra cotta and marble detailing.
Image courtesy of the City of Cincinnati – Richardsonian Romanesque Architecture : 1880 To 1900
ABOUT THE ARCHITECT
John Torrey Windrim was arguably Philadelphia’s preeminent civic architect of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Apart from numerous city commissions for courthouses, museums, and other civic buildings, Windrim and his firm designed many large office buildings, banks, hospitals, theaters and private residences for Philadelphia’s most prominent companies, institutions, and residents.
Windrim became the best-known Philadelphia practitioner of the classical revival style often designated as Beaux Arts. Some of the firm’s most acclaimed Philadelphia work includes the Commonwealth Title & Trust Company Building, a fifteen-story Beaux-Arts style bank and office tower at 1201 Chestnut Street (1901); the Franklin Institute Science Museum, a Classical Revival limestone edifice on Logan Square (1931); and the Lincoln-Liberty Building, an Art Deco high-rise office tower at 1 South Broad Street (1932); and The Family Court Building (1940) on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
