Firehouse 19

Firehouse 19. . , This building was originally constructed in the winter of 1873-1874 for Engine Company #8 of New Haven, as pictured above. The main equipment included a horse carriage with 1000 feet of hose and a horse-drawn steamer. The first company of 14 men, led by Engineer Elbert Gillett, was placed in service February 1, 1874. Captain Albert Cushman Hendrick was Fire Chief at the time. In 1918, the building was remodeled to accommodate new motorized engines, eliminating the stables for the horses. In 1924, a second door was added. In 1942, the octagonal “watch tower”was removed and replaced with a third door, and the gable roof was flattened. In 1963, the Engine Company moved to its present quarters up the street at the corner of Edwards and Whitney Ave. In 1974, John Matthews of Gilbert Switzer and Associates purchased the building and completely remodeled it to its present design., Since then, the building has been home to a number of well-known businesses, such as Annies Firehouse Soup Kitchen, Cafe Manhattan, the Women's Health Center, Gilbert Switzer and Associates, and the pediatric practice of Dr. Sydney Spiesel. It has been owned in turn by John Matthews and Charles deGarmo, Fred and Kathryn Giampietro, David and Constance D'Atri, and now David Johnson and Habar Lubin of the Post Traumatic Stress Center., This landmark building, now 127 years old, continues to transform with the times.