Like most late nineteenth-century New York City firehouses, Fire Engine Company No. 53 has a large central opening at the ground level, flanked by smaller doorways. The design incorporates elements of the Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival styles. The cast-iron trabeated base is enlivened by foliate capitals incorporating sunflowers and torches. Molded brick panels above the windows and terra-cotta medallions in the form of stylized sunflowers adorning the frieze below the cornice are among the Queen Anne motifs of the design. At the roofline stylized console brackets executed in corbelled brick support small pedimented forms adorned with sunbursts.
STATUS Designated Individual Landmark
The Neighborhood
East Harlem
Also known as El Barrio, the area is famous as one of the largest predominantly Latino neighborhoods in the city. Echoing development patterns across the city, the neighborhood was largely built in response to the availability of transportation. In the 1830s, tracks were laid along...
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