Engine House #12
Warranty Deed
Margaret Reen
To the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Date of Instrument - July 18, 1910
Consideration - Nineteen (sic) hundred (1900) Dollars
Recorded - September 8, 1910 in Liber 389 of Deeds on page 81
Description
Lot numbered one (1) excepting and reserving fifty (50) feet in width front and
rear off the east end of said lot of Ellen Reen’s Addition to the city of
Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, according to the recorded plat thereof.
CE
Deed
Margaret Reen, Executrix of the last will & testament of Johannah Sheldon
To the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Date of Instrument - July 18, 1910
Consideration - Seven hundred dollars ($700)
Recorded - September 8, 1910 in Liber 327 of Deeds on page 503
Description
All those certain pieces or parcels of land situate (sic), lying and being in
the City of Grand Rapids, County of Kent and State of Michigan, and described as
follows, - to-wit: Lot numbered three (3) and lot numbered two (2) excepting and
reserving the east fifty (50) feet of said lot two (2) of Ellen Reen’s Addition
to the City of Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, according to the recorded
plat thereof. CE
Ellen Reen's Addition 1889
GRP 185-1-55
554 Hall St SW Erected in 1912
Land 88 x 126 $60,500 in 1950
City Assessor's 1940
Was built at the corner of Grandville Avenue and Hall Street in a "high value district in that section of the City", not anymore.
"Engine House #12 is situated at the corner of Grandville Avenue and Hall Street and is the latest acquisition of the Grand Rapids Fire Department. It was built in the fall of 1910 and January 22nd seven men were drawn from different engine houses and assigned to it"
The building is modern in every sense of the word. It is built with light paving brick, is of neat design and presents a handsome appearance. A tall elm tree on the east side affords ample shade in the morning and on the west side an apple tree is growing close to the inside of the sidewalk. When the building was erected there was talk of cutting down the apple tree, but a strenuous objection was entered by W.B. Weston of the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners.
The territory covered by Station #12 comprises everything between 5th Street (Franklin) and the city limits to the south and west and everything east to South Division. Among the large factories in its limits are the Grand Rapids Refrigerator Company, Stickley Brothers; Michigan Chair Company, Excelsior Wrapper Company, Grand Rapids Piano Company, Nichols & Cox Lumber Company, Acme Lumber Company, C.W. Luce & Sons, Lindner Manufacturing Company, Keeler Brass Works, Retting Furniture Company, Fancy Furniture Company, Terrel Equipment Company, Grand Rapids & Indiana car shops and freight house. The Coit addition, familiarly known as the “black hills”, did not contain a house 10 years ago; while today there are over 200 homes.
The engine house measures 82 x 48 feet. It has a roomy basement, in which is located the heating plant. The furnace connects directly with the hose tower in such a manner that when frozen hose is hung in it heat from the furnace and auxiliary pipes will quickly thaw it out.
The captain’s room is situated in a front corner of the second floor. In its rear is a large bath room and toilet. A shower bath is one of its features. The dormitory contains 11 beds and is 34 x 28 feet. At the back end are 11 large lockers. A foot wall separates the dormitory from the hay loft and back of this is the granary.
An office and lounging room, 15 x 15 feet in size, is in one corner of the first floor. The apparatus room has a cement floor, with drain pipes in the center, and is 30 x 24 feet. In back of the apparatus room are six horse stalls and the barn adjoins the stalls. A large shed in the rear of the station house is used for storing coal, shavings and the exercise ring" . G R Fire Fighters
Closed in 1979.
150 years
replaced by Franklin St SW, the second superstation City of Grand Rapids - Franklin Fire Station
I have tried to impact every source with corrections or comments so everything on this site is copyrighted. The information may be used for your project but the source must be cited.
From Article Fire Department
From Heading Architecture
From web site: MyCityofGrandRapids.info