The ChicagoReader.com has an article about the current tenant in a former fire house on Chicago’s north side
The sign above the century-old building at 1545 W. Rosemont still reads fire department, having once belonged to Engine Company 70. But since 2008, the address has been a media production hub.
Its ground floor, where a fire truck once parked, is now Firehouse Studios’ 22-by-60-foot video and photo studio as well as a rentable event venue run by its sister company, Firehouse Chicago. The editors of the video production company Plum Productions, whose clients include Visa, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and White Castle, work upstairs in what used to be the firefighters’ sleeping quarters. The firehouse’s old horse stable from the preautomobile days has been renovated into a kitchen.
Former Chicago firehouse with a new tenant. – Courtesy Firehouse Studios
Firehouse Studios’ owner, Tim Plum, first heard about the building in ’08, when Engine Company 70 was preparing to move to a $9.3 million, 16,000-square-foot firehouse at 6030 N. Clark. He was in the market for new office space, and 40th Ward alderman Patrick O’Connor was looking for a new use for the soon-to-be-empty firehouse.
“I initially approached Alderman O’Connor because there was an old police station on Foster Avenue. I thought it’d be really cool to have a production company in a police station and the editing suites in the jail cells. Then he told me about the firehouse,” Plum says. “We drove by it that night, had a peek, and a formal tour with the firemen.”
Without the steady stream of emergency calls and sirens, the firehouse has settled into a tranquil rhythm—except, of course, when someone takes a giddy slide down the fireman’s pole.
thanks Dan
Previous mention of a new use for a different Chicago fire house
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#1 by tom sullivan on July 17, 2014 - 3:24 PM
as long as we are on that subject, a very similar event occurred in the early 80’s with e-89. a fire in one of the auto dealer bldgs. along western av. north of Petersen (there were many of those back then) was followed by a box then a 2-ll. e-89 was due on the card ( can’t recall if it was the box or 2-11). the fao opened the speaker and told e-89 to stay home. a while later e-94 pulled up on a change of quarters. they wanted to know why e-89 was still in the house. apparently because e-89 covered Lincolnwood in those days the office kept them back. as soon as e-94 sent in their return (@ e-89) on the key, the office told e-89 to take in the fire. when they got there they were ordered to lead out a line for wash down of the ruins, (the truss roof was in), no sooner done then ordered to pick up & return, that was kind of a way of saying “you were late to the party” !
#2 by Bill Post on July 17, 2014 - 1:49 AM
Thanks for the early history of Engine 70 Phil.
When Engines 79 and 128 were still in service in the Andersonville and Lincoln Square/Ravenswood Areas until the late 1960s, the Chicago Fire Department Main Alarm office would often times deliberately hold back Engine 70 from responding as the third or fourth Engine on Still and Box Alarms in the north end of Engine 71’s District (from Pratt going north) where Engine 102 was the second due Engine to Engine 71.
This policy was based on some running cards that were printed in the mid 1950’s. Not only would Engine 70 be deliberately held back from responding to Still and Box Alarms on the north end of Engine 71’s district but Engine 70 would be also be held back and the 2-11 alarms and not be dispatched until the 3-11 alarm.
As a specific example Engine 70 wasn’t normally due to Touhy and California until the 3-11 alarm even though they were third closest Engine and Engine 110 and Engine 79 were the third and fourth due Engines to Touhy and California. That was based on the running card that was issued in July of 1957 for phantom box 8622. That running card was used until early 1970 when Engine 79 was relocated to their new station at 6420 N Lehigh.
For the year and a quarter that Engine 79 was located with Engine 83 in their new house from January 6th 1969 to March 19th 1970
Engine 79 would automatically be dispatched on change of quarters to Engine 102 when Engine 102 would be dispatched still alarms with Engines 70 or Engines 71.
I’m pretty sure that the reason why Engine 70 was held back until the 3-11 if the fire was on the north end of Engine 71’s district is so that they would have the far north Lakefront covered until a change of quarter Engine would have arrived to cover Engine 102’s quarters. During those days (mid 50;s and 1960’s) Engine 22 was usually dispatched to Engine 102 on most change of quarters assignments on the 2-11 alarm.
#3 by Phil Stenholm on July 15, 2014 - 7:59 PM
From the time it was organized in a new frame firehouse at 2100 W. Eastwood on December 31, 1892, up until Hose Co. 6 was reorganized as Engine Co. 79 at 5358 N. Ashland in September 1895, Engine Co. 70 had a still district that ran from Lake Michigan west to Kedzie Avenue and Irving Park Road north to the Evanston border.
Engine Co. 70 followed Truck Co. 22 (then operating with a combination chemical-engine & ladder truck located at the old Village of Bowmanville Police & Fire station on Foster Avenue), Truck Co. 25 (operating with a combination truck that was located at the old Rogers Park Village Hall on Clark Street), and Hose Co. 6 (before it was reoganized as Engine Co. 79), providing the only apparatus capable of pumping water (not counting soda-acid from the combination trucks) in that 13-square mile area.
Engine No. 70 was originally a 400-GPM Ahrens “Columbian” combination steamer (pump & hose carried on the same rig) that was designed by Chris Ahrens specifically for use by the World’s Columbian Exposition Fire Department at the World’s Fair at Jackson Park.
Engine Co. 70 responded with its Columbian steamer into Evanston on March 21, 1893, helping the EFD battle the worst fire in Evanston’;s history (to that point in time) at the Lincoln Avenue schoolhouse on what is now Main Street. (The Evanston F. D. had no steam fire engine at that time, relyng on “direct-pressure” from hydrants to provide its water supply).
#4 by tom sullivan on July 15, 2014 - 7:14 PM
from the early 70’s up to when e-59 relocated to t-47, (about 1978) the north side had lost 2 engines, e-79 and e-128. e-70 took up a lot of the slack, following e-83 to the south, (e-110 came from the west along foster av. and e-78 would be second engine all the way up to argyle.) even e-112 would make it up into edgewater / uptown on still & boxes, of which there were many.
e-70 responded to virtually every working fire (1st or 2nd due) roughly from the north city limits to bryn mawr and from the lakefront to western av. the dist. is about the most diverse in population, density, building construction & occupancies, social and economic extremes that you will find anywhere.
since the old house was built in 1905 there must have been many tens of thousands of runs out of there by just the engine alone. the wincrest nursing home (in the 70’s)and the royal beach (?) hotel (in the 80’s) fire were two of the highest loss of life fires in Chicago history.
#5 by Bill Post on July 15, 2014 - 4:04 PM
Yes Tom I remember Eng 70’s old house from recent years as well as way back when they were using their original 1954 Mack Engine along with a 1960 Ford Station Wagon for the old 27th Battalion as well as Ambulance 13 in both their original 1956 Caddy and their 1963 Caddy.
Ambulance 13 first went in service in 1956 and they covered the North Lake Front from Lawrence avenue(4800 North) to June way (7800 North) and they went in some places as far west as the river and further west of the river in some places. Your correct that for a one bay station they had enough space for an Engine a Cadillac ambulance and a Station Wagon Battalion Chief. In the 50’s and 60’s there were very few roomy stations that were around and while their were many more stations very few of them could fit an ambulance on the far north side.
As far as Engines and Trucks went Engine 70 had Engine 102 and Truck 25 barely a mile to the north , Engine 71 which was 1 and 1/2 miles to the west and Truck 47 less then a mile south. While Engine 59 was a south side company back then Engine 79 was only about a mile and a quarter south in an even smaller station then Engine 70’s and I believe that 79’s house is still standing as well. Engine 70’s area was always well covered.
#6 by tom sullivan on July 13, 2014 - 10:27 AM
it is good to see some of the old houses being saved and hopefully not so completely renovated as to loose the look of what they were,,, a firehouse. the barn doors are a great touch.
a lot of cfd history in that house,, starting with t-25.
it was a unique place ,,an engine, chiefs buggy, and ambulance all in one bay. in it’s later years there was a very diverse group of personnel who staffed it. they had to adapt to the very close living. lots of colorful people and stories,, not to mention many, many fires.