Old Engine Company No. 6
438 Massachusetts Ave., NW., Washington, DCThe Joint Committee on Landmarks has designated the Old Engine Company No. 6 building a Category II Landmark of importance which contributes significantly to the cultural heritage and visual beauty of the District of Columbia, Erected in the early 1860s, it is the oldest surviving firehouse in the District of Columbia still in its original use as a firehouse. Its history spans and uniquely reflects the development of the Fire Department of the District of Columbia from a volunteer force to the present modern professional force and the development of firefighting here from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. It was constructed as the house of Metropolitan Hook and Ladder, the first, and between 1864 and 1879, the only hook and ladder company in the District of Columbia, and, consequently, its force responded to every alarm in the city during this period--including such historic conflagrations as that of the Smithsonian Institution in 1865 and of the U.S. Patent Office in 1877. It was constructed at the beginning of that period of intensive municipal improvement which culminated in Alexander R. Shepherd's remarkable transformation of the city in the early 1870s. It is an architecturally distinctive mid-nineteenth-century firehouse related in design to such major municipal construction of the 1860s as the Wallach and Franklin Schools.
The Metropolitan Hook and Ladder Company were organized in April of 1855, the first hook and ladder company of the then completely volunteer fire department of the District of Columbia. On November 12, 1855, when the newly formed company's first hook and ladder truck arrived, representatives of the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company of Baltimore and the Sun Fire Company of Alexandria joined District of Columbia firemen in a colorful parade celebrating the occasion. A second hook and ladder company, the American Hook and Ladder, was also formed in 1855. In addition to these hook and ladder companies, there were at this time six engine companies in the city--Union, Franklin, Northern Liberties, Perseverance. Anacostia and Columbia.
Metropolitan Hook and Ladder were first housed at 505 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. On November 20, 1862, the volunteer fire department was reorganized and the Board of Aldermen. It was at about this time that the firehouse at 438 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. was constructed for the use of Metropolitan Hook and Ladder. Architectural detail such as acroteria, corbelled brick cornice, chimneys, polychromatic effects, and window, and door design is related to that of such buildings as Franklin and Wallach Schools and the U.S. Department of Agriculture designed by the Washington architectural firm of Cluss and Kammerhueber in the 1860s.
The Act of Organizing a Paid Fire Department was enacted on July 1, 1864. The part-paid, part volunteer force thus established consisted of three engine companies--Union, Franklin, and Columbia--in addition to Metropolitan Hook and Ladder. The latter was now known as the Metropolitan Truck Company or Hook and Ladder No. 1, while the former was known as Engine Company No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3. Phillip W. Nicholson, in his History of the Volunteer and Paid Fire Department of the District of Columbia, 1800-1936, notes "The engine companies had three paid men who remained in the engine houses at all times except meal hours, an engineer, fireman and hostler and six call men who were only to answer when they heard an alarm of fire. The Truck Company had only two paid men: a tillerman and hostler, and seven call men. "On January 19, 1870, the Mayor signed an ordinance making the fire department a fully paid professional force. Hook and Ladder No. 1 was redesignated Truck Company 'A'.
On February 16, 1879, a second hook and ladder company was organized and Truck Company 'A' was moved to a new building at North Capitol and C Streets, N.W. The firehouse at 438 Massachusetts Avenue N.W., was remodeled by architect Peter J. Lauritzen to accommodate the newly formed Engine Company No. 6. Engine Company No. 6 occupied the building for 95 years, moving in July 1974 to a new building at 1300 New Jersey Avenue, N.W. The old Engine Company No. 6 building now houses the Community Relations Division of the Fire Department of the District of Columbia and is being renovated for use as a fire safety education center and mini-museum of firefighting.
Local significance of the building:
The Metropolitan Hook and Ladder Company were organized in April of 1855, the first hook and ladder company of the then completely volunteer fire department of the District of Columbia. On November 12, 1855, when the newly formed company's first hook and ladder truck arrived, representatives of the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company of Baltimore and the Sun Fire Company of Alexandria joined District of Columbia firemen in a colorful parade celebrating the occasion. A second hook and ladder company, the American Hook and Ladder, was also formed in 1855. In addition to these hook and ladder companies, there were at this time six engine companies in the city--Union, Franklin, Northern Liberties, Perseverance. Anacostia and Columbia.
Metropolitan Hook and Ladder were first housed at 505 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. On November 20, 1862, the volunteer fire department was reorganized and the Board of Aldermen. It was at about this time that the firehouse at 438 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. was constructed for the use of Metropolitan Hook and Ladder. Architectural detail such as acroteria, corbelled brick cornice, chimneys, polychromatic effects, and window, and door design is related to that of such buildings as Franklin and Wallach Schools and the U.S. Department of Agriculture designed by the Washington architectural firm of Cluss and Kammerhueber in the 1860s.
The Act of Organizing a Paid Fire Department was enacted on July 1, 1864. The part-paid, part volunteer force thus established consisted of three engine companies--Union, Franklin, and Columbia--in addition to Metropolitan Hook and Ladder. The latter was now known as the Metropolitan Truck Company or Hook and Ladder No. 1, while the former was known as Engine Company No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3. Phillip W. Nicholson, in his History of the Volunteer and Paid Fire Department of the District of Columbia, 1800-1936, notes "The engine companies had three paid men who remained in the engine houses at all times except meal hours, an engineer, fireman and hostler and six call men who were only to answer when they heard an alarm of fire. The Truck Company had only two paid men: a tillerman and hostler, and seven call men. "On January 19, 1870, the Mayor signed an ordinance making the fire department a fully paid professional force. Hook and Ladder No. 1 was redesignated Truck Company 'A'.
On February 16, 1879, a second hook and ladder company was organized and Truck Company 'A' was moved to a new building at North Capitol and C Streets, N.W. The firehouse at 438 Massachusetts Avenue N.W., was remodeled by architect Peter J. Lauritzen to accommodate the newly formed Engine Company No. 6. Engine Company No. 6 occupied the building for 95 years, moving in July 1974 to a new building at 1300 New Jersey Avenue, N.W. The old Engine Company No. 6 building now houses the Community Relations Division of the Fire Department of the District of Columbia and is being renovated for use as a fire safety education center and mini-museum of firefighting.
Architecture
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
About National Register Listings
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
The District was a major center of the slave trade in the 19th century: Prior to the Civil War, Washington, D.C. was home to one of the largest slave markets in the country. Slaves were bought and sold in public auctions held in the city, and many prominent politicians and businessmen owned slaves.