Hook & Ladder Company 7

217 East 28th Street | Kips Bay | built 1893

Open on the map5 entries

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

1. 1893

   Napoleon LeBrun rebuilds the firehouse for Hook & Ladder 7

   FDNY architect Napoleon LeBrun & Son so thoroughly rebuilt the firehouse at 217 East 28th Street in 1893 that the department called it an entirely new building. The design added variegated Roman brick upper stories, limestone trim, decorative rondels, and a pressed-metal cornice with lion's-head brackets.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

2. 1894

   January 2

   Fireman John Howe braves a tenement blaze

   On January 2, 1894, Hook & Ladder 7 fireman John P. Howe suffered severe burns to his hands and face while pulling multiple people from a burning Pearl Street tenement. Exactly two years later he performed another rescue spanning two buildings while a fellow fireman held his legs.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

3. 1902

   January 27

   "Lucky Jim" Kiernan rescues a foreman from a subway blast

   Fireman James Francis Kiernan earned the nickname "Lucky Jim" on January 27, 1902, after rescuing construction foreman Tubbs from the aftermath of a dynamite explosion during construction of the subway.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

4. 1968

   August 6

   Hook & Ladder 7 relocates after 75 years

   Hook & Ladder Company No. 7 moved out of its East 28th Street firehouse on August 6, 1968, relocating to a new joint building with Engine Company 16 at 234 East 29th Street.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

5. 1995

   The Self-Realization Fellowship converts the firehouse into a city center

   In 1995 the Self-Realization Fellowship converted the former firehouse into its New York City Center, adding two chapels, Sunday school rooms, a bookshop, and office space while preserving LeBrun's exterior design.

   Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

• 217 East 28th StreetWikipedia
• Napoleon Le Brun's Hook & Ladder No. 7 - 217 East 28th StreetDaytonian in Manhattan

Nearby

• Rose Hill203 East 29th Street | 5 entries
• St. Illuminator's Armenian Apostolic Cathedral221 East 27th Street | 5 entries
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• Gramercy Arts Theatre138 East 27th Street | 3 entries
• Engine Company 16 Firehouse223 East 25th Street | 4 entries

All 16 buildings with stories in Kips Bay