Lost Washington: Engine Company No. 2

Historic

by Kent Boese • September 2, 2009 4:26 pm

Once located at 719 12th Street, NW, the Italian Renaissance firehouse that became the home of Engine Company No. 2 in 1910 was designed at a cost of $1,200 by architect Leon E. Dessez. A third floor behind the frieze housed a gymnasium. The original plans called for twin towers on the size of the building, but could not be built and still have the structure remain in its $40,000 budget.

Metro construction severely damaged the foundation in 1975. As a result, the building was razed in 1986.

3 comments — Share	— tags: DC, downtown DC, historic losses

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Comments

Wow, that facade was full of amazing detail! I love the frieze band in the polychrome brick, and the small doorways set just just inside the ground floor arches. It's a shame that buildings like this were lost because the area around metro center is lacking in these small scale, fine grained structures. The 80's PoMo around there just doesn't have the same kind of energy as these old facades.

by Merarch on Sep 3, 2009 1:13 am

A pedestrian who was jogging was struck by a Metro bus today a bit before 9 a.m. She had the light and was crossing Florida Avenue at Connecticut. After the bus hit her, she flew several feet into the air and landed several feet away. According to a witness, she was moaning. An ambulance arrived about 2 minutes later.

by Jazzy on Sep 3, 2009 9:34 am

I remember when the building was taken down and it was said that the facade was to be reinstalled as part of the Metro Center development, like the facades from Pa. Avenue that have been installed on 7th Street in PQ. I wonder if the facade is in storage somewhere - how do we find out?

by Downtowner on Sep 3, 2009 4:01 pm