Engine 6 firehouse (former Engine Co. 32)

49 Beekman Street | Financial District | built 1920

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The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

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

  1. 1865

    An earlier building here housed the Second Precinct police station, later city offices

    Following the Civil War, a police station for the Second Precinct occupied 49 Beekman Street, in the block between William and Gold Streets. By the mid-1880s the building had been turned into city offices, home to the Public Administrator and the Corporation Counsel. The firehouse built in 1903 later took its place.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  2. 1903

    Horgan & Slattery build a Beaux Arts firehouse for Engine Company 32

    Engine Company 32's old John Street quarters had become obsolete, so in June 1902 the firm Horgan & Slattery filed plans for a $35,000 brick-and-stone firehouse here. Its rusticated base carries a Greek key frieze, a two-story elliptical arch frames the midsection, and a copper-clad mansard crowns it. It followed the high design standard set by the department's late architect Napoleon LeBrun.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1907

    January 6

    Three Engine 32 firefighters die when a floor collapses in a paper warehouse fire

    On January 6, 1907, nine men from the house fought a blaze in a paper warehouse on Roosevelt Street. Fireman Thomas Lennon went back in and carried a missing battalion chief out, but a water-soaked floor then fell, killing Lennon, John Siefert and Daniel Campbell. Lennon's body was found the next morning.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  4. 1920

    March 7

    Joseph O'Hanlon, the youngest battalion chief, receives his white hat in the firehouse

    At the house on March 7, 1920, the 36-year-old Joseph O'Hanlon received the traditional white hat of a battalion chief from Acting Chief George McAleer. He became an assistant chief in 1936. He is credited with devising the department's pension system and the three-platoon system, and with cutting firefighters' hours from 86 to 46 a week.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  5. 1960

    August

    A firefighter from the house is jailed in Cuba after a secret weekend trip to oppose Castro

    Fireman Richard Pecoraro, 27, slipped away to Cuba in August 1960 without permission, to argue against the Castro government. He was arrested and spent 20 days in jail, then returned to Engine 32 on August 22 to find he had been suspended. After a hearing, the deputy commissioner said he would recommend his dismissal.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  6. 1972

    November 8

    Engine Company 32 is disbanded and Engine 6 moves in, later painting a tiger on the doors

    Fire Commissioner Robert Lowery announced on November 8, 1972 that six engine companies would be discontinued, including Engine 32. The house briefly held Ladder Company 10 before Engine Company 6 moved in. Engine 6 put its own number over the carved 32 and painted the bay doors with a tiger mural, the company's symbol.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

Further reading

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