Then and Then and Now: Engine Company No. 12

Historic

Then and Then and Now: Engine Company No. 12

by Kent Boese • November 16, 2009 3:30 pm

Engine Company No. 12, firehouse, 1626 North Capitol Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

Engine Company No. 12 at 1626 North Capitol Street before 1910 (top), in the mid-1930s (bottom left), and today. Past images from the Library of Congress.

Built in 1897, the firehouse was the beginning of the City's period of eclectic firehouse design. This Spanish Colonial firehouse began a tradition that lasted until 1916 where design varied with each new structure. Engine 12 remained at this location until it moved to new quarters in 1987.

The property remains vacant today awaiting a new occupant. The last promising occupant was 2020 Martini, a the three-story, 10,000-square-foot brick oven pizza/pasta/sushi/martini restaurant and bar that began restoring the property in 2008 before work abruptly stopped.

11 comments — Share	— tags: Bloomingdale, DC, historic comparison

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Comments

That's a very odd concept for a restaurant.

Also, it's interesting to see how much closer the building sits to the curb, now. I guess those houses to the right were torn down to widen the street?

by Westerly on Nov 16, 2009 4:12 pm

the buildings to the right are still there.

by a on Nov 16, 2009 5:11 pm

Probably a good thing that that ridiculous 2020 Martini joke of a development fell through. Does anyone know if there are any other plans to develop this property?

by Thoman Kaufmas on Nov 16, 2009 6:57 pm

Is that dance club in dupont on p street (i think) an old firehouse?

by shy on Nov 16, 2009 9:00 pm

I see there are still buildings there, but maybe it's just the angle the makes it seem that they used to come much closer to the street than the firehouse did? If so, that's a crazy skewed perspective.

by Westerly on Nov 17, 2009 12:39 am

possibly the angle, but it looks right by my eyes.
that building with the awnings in the first picture btw, was the short lived borf mansion a few years ago.

the sidewalks are indeed narrower now.
north capitol didnt used to be such a main road. in fact, it didnt go beyond michigan back in the day.

the median didnt exist, and there were only 4 lanes of traffic. now there are 6 lanes of traffic and a median.

you can see here that the sidewalks were much wider:
http://truxtoncircle.org/gallery/trux_circle_full.jpg
the top left of the picture is the intersection with the firehouse

damn, i'd love to have the sidewalks back.
i'd really love to see a lot of our sidewalks in the district wider. even at the sake of removing parking.
( even at the sake of building public parking garages !)

but wouldn't places like adams morgan or georgetown or u street be nicer if you didn't have to step in to the street when walking past people? what would it take to get that to happen? who has to be on board?

by a on Nov 17, 2009 9:30 am

Truxton Circle used to be really ugly. Good thing they "improved" it!

by rg on Nov 17, 2009 9:51 am

Looking at Street View (http://tinyurl.com/yzvxajt), the building with the awning in the old pictures is definitely still there. Also it looks to me like that N Capitol Street, surprisingly, has only barely been widened, if at all.

by Erik W on Nov 17, 2009 9:55 am

"Also it looks to me like that N Capitol Street, surprisingly, has only barely been widened, if at all. "

if you look at the picture of the circle, you can see two people in the left hand side on the sidewalk. as it is now, two people can not stand side by side on the sidewalk next to a treebox. in the photo there is far more room.

the street also doesnt *appear* to be six modern car lanes wide.
i dont have real facts though, just the pictures and some speculation.

(i'd still like wider sidewalks)

by a on Nov 17, 2009 10:35 am

I just read that Vegetate over on 9th street is looking for a new space...maybe here....and wasn't Olsen's bookstore (closed on 7th) looking for a new spot? MOVE HERE! PLEASE! we will support you every day.

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