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Houghton Fire Hall
United States historic place From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Houghton Fire Hall, officially called the Continental Fire Company Building,[2] is a former fire station at the corner of Huron St. and Montezuma Ave. in Houghton, Michigan.[1] Built in 1883, it was the original home of the Michigan Mining School. The building is listed as a Michigan State Historic Site and is a contributing property of the Shelden Avenue Historic District.
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History
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Perspective
The Continental Fire Company organized in 1860 in Houghton.[3] The department's first fire hall was built in 1861 along the waterfront near the site of the modern-day Portage Lake Lift Bridge.[2]
The new fire hall was built in 1883[3] and its bell was cast in 1884[4] by Centennial Bell Foundry, G. Campbell & Sons, Milwaukee Wis. The Continental Fire Company occupied the basement, which housed horses, and the main floor, which stored fire engines.[2] Village offices were on the second floor.[3] The Michigan Mining School, now Michigan Technological University, held its first classes on the second floor and in the basement from 1886 through May 1889.[1][5][6][7] In the early 1900s, the building was extended to the north to store more oats and hay for the horses.[2] In 1916, an addition was built on the western side to store two more fire engines.[3]
The city moved its offices out of the fire hall in the 1930s.[3] On August 5, 1966, a bronze plaque was unveiled commemorating the building as the original home of the university.[8] In 1974, the fire department moved to a new, more centrally located fire hall along Sharon Avenue in order to accommodate larger modern equipment.[3][9] The fire bell was removed in October 1975 and transferred to the new location.[4] The western addition was sold and became an auto supply store.[10]
The fire hall was listed as a Michigan State Historic Site on August 6, 1976.[1] In 1978, the university purchased the building from the city to use as storage.[9] On December 30, 1987, the Shelden Avenue Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the fire hall as a contributing property.[11] It was sold in 2010 to a private group who renovated it into an entertainment venue, called the Continental Fire Co., which opened in February 2012.[12] The western addition became vacant in October 2011 when the auto supply store moved to a new location.[9][13]
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Architecture
The fire hall is a flat-roofed, three-story[b] brick structure designed in the Italianate style.[1] The foundation is built of rubble and painted white.[1] A small, four-faced clock tower was originally situated on the cupola at the front of the building.[1][3] The vertical space provided room for fire hoses to hang and dry.[3]
See also
Notes
- As of 2012[update], the road is named Montezuma Avenue, but was Montezuma Street when listed.
References
External links
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