Fire Houses Archives - Lost In Michigan

The Fire Barn

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses .

The old Milan Fire Barn was built in 1897 and served as a fire station until 1979. The building housed the fire department and some of the city’s fire vehicles, including a 1938 Ford Fire Truck that Henry Ford traded to the city for an earlier Ford fire truck. Over time it also housed the police department, a jail (which consisted of a single jail cell), and the city library was housed upstairs.

In 1979 the fire department moved to a new station on Wabash street and the old fire barn was abandoned. In 1983 the city donated the fire barn to the Milan Area Historical Society which restored the building in 2002 with money generated by fundraisers.

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The Engine House in Adrian

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses .

In downtown Adrian, stands one of the oldest firehouses in Michigan. Engine House No. 1 was built in 1856 making it the oldest continuously operating firehouse in Michigan when it closed in 1987. Originally built for horse-drawn fire fighting equipment the building was converted to hold mechanical fire engines in 1912.

I love the weathervane that sits atop the old fire station. After it closed it was converted into an office building and is still used for that purpose today.

If you are wondering what the oldest operating firehouse is in Michigan Click HERE

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Ypsilanti’s Firehouse

Posted on December 11, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses .

Not far from Depot Town in Ypsilanti is one of Michigan’s oldest firehouses. It was built in 1892 and used by the city fire department until 1975. It is currently the home of the Michigan Firehouse Museum.

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The Old Engine 4 Firehouse in Detroit

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses .

I had already taken pics of the oldest church in Michigan (Ste Anne De Detroit, you can see my pic HERE) on a previous trip to Detroit and did not plan on taking more but when I was in the neighborhood I saw the twin steeples of the church looking out over the trees and the houses and decided since I was near there why not get a few more pics. I headed over there from a different direction than last time, and that is when I saw the old firehouse sitting near the church, as if the tall steeples were watching over it, and protecting it all these years. The numbers 1897 displayed between the doors gave away the year it was built but I found out the DFD stopped using the old firehouse in 1976. It’s still standing with its magnificent brickwork like you will never see on a new building. Looking at it, I can only imagine the firefighters going from a horse-drawn apparatus, to an early primitive motorized firetruck, and then on to a post WWII truck with the fireman riding on the back, but the station was passed by in the 70’s before it could get a new modern fire truck.

P.S. thank you to all the firefighters who answer the call for help, It takes a special kind of person to run into a burning building.

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World Record Fire Station

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses .

The fire station in Manistee just earned the Guinness World Record for the oldest continuously manned fire station in the world. Manned 24-hours a day, seven-days a week since 1889.

The historical marker for the station gives a little bit of it’s history and reads:

In early October 1888, the Manistee City Council hired Frederick Hollister of Saginaw, the architect of Manistee’s principal school, to design a fire hall to replace the original station, which was constructed in 1872 – 1873 on Filer Street. Later that month the Manistee Democrat predicted that the city’s new fire hall would be “a model of convenience and usefulness.” Constructed of brick, cut-stone and French plate glass and trimmed with galvanized iron, this Romanesque Revival-style building was constructed by the local firm of Brownrigg and Reynolds at a cost of $7,516. The dome is covered with copper. The hall opened in June 1889 when Manistee’s first “fire truck,” a horse-drawn steam engine, was brought from the original hall. It is the oldest continually operated fire station in Michigan

P.S. it looks like they will have to update the historical marker from the oldest in Michigan to the oldest in the world

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The Old Firehouse

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses .

I was roaming around the city of Jackson and I came across this old firehouse. I like to have an interesting story to go with my pics, but I was not able to find any information about it on the internet other than it is closed. The ENGINE HOUSE No. 4 sign over the garage doors is the only thing I know about it. I can only imagine over the years many firefighters have gone on runs to save lives and property. It now stands empty and forgotten, I guess that is why I was compelled to stop and take a pic.

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The Old Hamburg Fire Station

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses, Historic Places .

Traveling around the backroads north of Ann Arbor I went through the town of Hamburg and I could not miss the bright red fire station in the center of town.

In 1837 The Town of Hamburg Michigan southwest of Brighton was named after Hamburg Germany and a Township hall was constructed. The building stood for over 100 years and on a cold December day in 1954 John Moore who took care of the hall lit the oil burning stove to warm it up and it exploded. John Moore was fatally burned and died from the explosion. A fire truck was sent from Brighton and broke down on the way to Hamburg. The townspeople were able to get the fire under control but decided they needed their own fire department instead of relying on surrounding cities for help.

P.S. Thank you to all the firefighters, policemen and first responders who work over the holiday season.

I only have 5 Lighthouse Calendars and 4 Lost In Michigan calendars left, it would be nice to see them go to a good home. if you want one you can order them HERE

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Holland’s Grand Old City Hall and Fire House

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses, Michigan Historical Markers .

Standing at the east end of downtown Holland’s shopping district, is the old city hall and Firehouse. I wonder how many people notice this stately old building while they are out shopping or enjoying a meal at one of the pubs. I know it’s not forgotten for there’s a historical marker out front recalling its history. The sign says

The city of Holland bought this lot in 1882, and contractor James Huntley began construction of a fire hall the next year. Completed in 1884, the building housed Holland’s city offices and library until 1912 and served as a fire hall until 1978. During World War II the west annex was built. In 1983 the firehouse was rehabilitated for use as office space. Grooves in the engine house floor that provided traction for the horses have been filled, and the doors, once replaced to accommodate trucks have been restored.

On March 8, 1884, some 150 people attended the Columbia Fire Engine Company’s oyster supper celebration honoring Holland’s new city hall and firehouse. The solid brick building reflects the desire for “fire proof” construction following the 1871 fire that devastated the city. The city clerk and a special committee consulted with the Grand Rapids firm of Robinson and Barnaby, and designed the structure with a tower to accommodate drying fifty-foot unfolded fire hoses. Originally a cupola topped the tower.

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The Old Firehouse On the Northeast Side

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Detroit, Fire Houses .

The old firehouse on Mount Elliott was the oldest operating firehouse in Detroit when it closed in 2012 and the city put it up for sale. It’s a beautiful old two story firehouse built in 1893, and designed by famed architect Gorge Mason, who designed the Masonic Temple, and the Ransom Gillis House in Detroit. I can only imagine all the emergency runs the firefighters went on over the years, from horses to the massive fire engines they have today.

P.S. Thank you to all the first responders working over the holidays and every day.

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The Continental Fire Company

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Fire Houses, upper peninsula .

The Continental Fire Company organized in 1860 in Houghton built their new fire hall in 1883 and occupied the basement, which housed horses, and the main floor, which stored fire engines. Village offices were on the second floor. 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. In the early 1900s, the building was extended to the north to store more oats and hay for the horses. In 1916, an addition was built on the western side to store two more fire engines.

The city moved its offices out of the fire hall in the 1930s. On August 5, 1966, a bronze plaque was unveiled commemorating the building as the original home of the university. In 1974, the fire department moved to a new, more centrally located fire hall along Sharon Avenue in order to accommodate larger modern equipment. The fire bell was removed in October 1975 and transferred to the new location.

The fire hall was listed as a Michigan State Historic Site on August 6, 1976.In 1978, the university purchased the building from the city to use as storage.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.

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