Engine House No. 3

The City of Racine purchased this site in 1869 for $1,000 but postponed construction of a new building for more than a decade. After several unsuccessful bids for an engine house, Alderman Lucius Blake persuaded the Common Council to approve a new building, and in May 1881 the council accepted a design by Madison architect David R. Jones. His Victorian Italianate plan called for a two-story cream-brick building with a tower and stone accents. Although construction was delayed at first, the company moved in by December 1, 1881. Engine Company No. 3 had been formed in 1849, one year after Racine became a city, and its volunteer membership was made up almost entirely of Welsh immigrants. Its original quarters stood on Seventh Street between Main and Wisconsin. Two years after the company moved into the new building, the Racine Fire Department changed from volunteer service to a professional company. The building remained in use until 1968, and in 1976 the City of Racine restored it as part of the National Bicentennial.

Racine, Wisconsin · United States