Engine House No. 3

Engine House No. 3 (HM1B64)

Location: Racine, WI 53403 Racine County
Buy Wisconsin State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 42° 43.556', W 87° 47.365'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 578 views
Inscription
The Building
The City of Racine purchased the site in 1869 for $1,000, but deferred the actual construction of a new building for over a decade. After several unsuccessful bids for an engine house, Alderman Lucius Blake convinced the Common Council to approve a new building. In May of 1881, the council accepted a design from David R. Jones, a Madison architect. Jones' design, in the Victorian Italianate style, called for a two-story building with a tower, and clad in cream brick with stone acents [sic]. Construction was delayed at the start, but the company was able to move in by December 1, 1881.

Engine Company No. 3
Engine Company No. 3 was formed in 1849, one year after Racine was incorporated as a city. The volunteer company was made up almost exclusively of Welsh immigrants. The company's original home was on Seventh Street, between Main and Wisconsin. Two years after Engine Company No. 3 moved into their new home, the Racine Fire Department changed from volunteer service to a professional company. Engine House No. 3 remained in use until 1968. In 1976, as part of the National Bicentennial, the City of Racine restored the building.

[Photo captions read]
[1.]
The engine house was originally designed to be on a corner. However, Grand Avenue was never constructed, and a plaza was built in its place. Instead of having a decorative front fa?ade and blank "party" walls on either side, the building has two fronts: one along modern-day Sixth Street, and another along the plaza where Grand Avenue would have been.
Photograph by Great Lakes Archeological Research Center, Inc. 2012

[2.]
The Engine Company No. 3, photographed in 1907. Members included, from left to right: Henry Martin, John Fach, Captain John Diedish, Chief James Cape, William Billhorn, and Charles Jenista.
Image Property of Racine Heritage Museum Archival Collection. All Rights Reserved.
Details
HM NumberHM1B64
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, October 9th, 2014 at 7:57pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16T E 435370 N 4730682
Decimal Degrees42.72593333, -87.78941667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 42° 43.556', W 87° 47.365'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds42° 43' 33.36" N, 87° 47' 21.90" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)262
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 801-873 6th St, Racine WI 53403, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. Who or what organization placed the marker?
  10. This marker needs at least one picture.
  11. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  12. Is the marker in the median?