Hook & Ladder Company 42 Firehouse
661 Prospect Avenue | also 659 Prospect Avenue | Melrose | built 1900
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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.
- 1910
The Fire Department unveils a standard "Model Fire House" design for 20 sites
In 1910 the FDNY announced a uniform firehouse plan by Hoppin & Koen, former McKim, Mead & White men, meant for 20 locations in 1911. The buildings were to be fully fireproof, built of reinforced concrete finished in stucco with metal doors and trim, and the department budgeted about $500,000 for the group. Hook & Ladder Company 42's house on Prospect Avenue followed this model.
“In 1910, the FDNY unveiled a new uniform type "Model Fire House," plans and specifications for which were prepared by architects…”
- 1912
Hook & Ladder Company 42 gets a three-story firehouse in brick instead of concrete
Built in 1912 next to Engine Company 73, this three-story neo-Classical house follows Hoppin & Koen's standard design, but bids ran over budget, so the commissioner swapped the planned concrete and stucco for red brick and limestone. Cockerill & Little won the job with a $33,333 bid, and a 1913 report put the finished cost at $35,407. The FDNY seal sits above the second story.
- 2013
Ladder 42's firehouse becomes a city landmark with its neighbor, Engine 73
On February 12, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated this firehouse and the adjoining Engine 73 house as one landmark. The commission's report notes that both companies have served Longwood without a break since they opened, and that their firefighters were vital to the area during the 1970s, when abandoned buildings posed a constant fire danger.
Nearby
- Engine Company 73 Firehouse655 Prospect Avenue | 3 entries
- Church of St. Anselm and St. Roch683 Tinton Avenue | 3 entries
- St. Margaret's Episcopal Church940 East 156th Street | 5 entries
- St. Margaret's Rectory948 East 156th Street | 2 entries
- 931 East 156th Street2 entries
- 933 East 156th Street2 entries