Engine House No. 3

Engine House No. 3. . , The Building , The City of Racine purchased the site in 1869 for $1,000, but deferred the actual construction of a new building for over a decade. After several unsuccessful bids for an engine house, Alderman Lucius Blake convinced the Common Council to approve a new building. In May of 1881, the council accepted a design from David R. Jones, a Madison architect. Jones' design, in the Victorian Italianate style, called for a two-story building with a tower, and clad in cream brick with stone acents [sic]. Construction was delayed at the start, but the company was able to move in by December 1, 1881., Engine Company No. 3 , Engine Company No. 3 was formed in 1849, one year after Racine was incorporated as a city. The volunteer company was made up almost exclusively of Welsh immigrants. The company's original home was on Seventh Street, between Main and Wisconsin. Two years after Engine Company No. 3 moved into their new home, the Racine Fire Department changed from volunteer service to a professional company. Engine House No. 3 remained in use until 1968. In 1976, as part of the National Bicentennial, the City of Racine restored the building., [Photo captions read] , [1.] The engine house was originally designed to be on a corner. However, Grand Avenue was never constructed, and a plaza was built in its place. Instead of having a decorative front façade and blank "party" walls on either side, the building has two fronts: one along modern-day Sixth Street, and another along the plaza where Grand Avenue would have been. , Photograph by Great Lakes Archeological Research Center, Inc. 2012, [2.] , The Engine Company No. 3, photographed in 1907. Members included, from left to right: Henry Martin, John Fach, Captain John Diedish, Chief James Cape, William Billhorn, and Charles Jenista. , Image Property of Racine Heritage Museum Archival Collection. All Rights Reserved.