416 N Gay St
Baltimore, MD, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Engine House No. 6 (Fire Engine House No. 6)

Statement of Significant:

The Independent Fire Company engine house pre-dates the Balti- more City Fire Department itself, built in 1853-1854 by the architects Reasin and Wetherald, it was the third building erected by this volunteer fire fighters’ group to house its equipment. In 1858, when the city established a paid Fire Department, the building was purchased for $8,000 and is the only engine house remaining from that era, unchanged, and in continuous use as a fire station. Today, the area surrounding Engine House #6 is included in the Oldtown Urban Renewal District, and plans are progressing rapidly for levelling most of the neighborhood. This building should be preserved as a vital link with the past and, to this end, city planners have pro- posed that it be used as a small museum of the history of firefighting. In addition, the period of time which it represents was important in the city's history, for it was built in the day when volunteer fire companies reached the peak of their rivalries and gave Baltimore its notorious name, "Mobtown."