Calumet Fire Station
Encyclopedia
The Calumet Fire Station is a firehouse located on 6th Street in Calumet, Michigan
. It is also known as the Red Jacket Fire Station. The building was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1974, and is part of the Calumet Historic District
and the Keweenaw National Historical Park
. The building now houses the Upper Peninsula Fire Fighters Memorial Museum.
until 1910, when the company deeded it to the village. The total cost of the building at the time was just over $20,000, including architectural work, stonework, and carpentry.
In 1964, the fire department moved to the town hall building. The building was used in various ways, including rooms for summer repertory performers at the nearby Calumet Theatre. It now houses the Upper Peninsula Fire Fighters Memorial Museum.
building, rectangular in plan and measuring fifty-four feet by eighty-three feet. It is constructed from of red sandstone. Three fire engine entrances with wooden doors are in the center of the front facade. The doors are topped by a stepped gable which is flanked by a smaller gable on one side and an open bell tower with a pyrimidal roof sits the other. The roof of the structure is flat. Small doors are in each of the other three sides.
The building was originally constructed with the first floor housing fire engines and horses, with other equipment in the basement. The second floor primarily housed the fire fighters, but also held hay for the horses. The firemen's quarters included a bunk room, locker room, and a larger hall for social affairs.
Calumet, Michigan
Calumet is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the Calumet Downtown Historic District, listed on the National...
. It is also known as the Red Jacket Fire Station. The building was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1974, and is part of the Calumet Historic District
Calumet Historic District
The Calumet Historic District is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 28, 1989. It was further designated a U.S...
and the Keweenaw National Historical Park
Keweenaw National Historical Park
Keweenaw National Historical Park is a unit of the U.S. National Park Service. Established in 1992, the park celebrates the life and history of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan...
. The building now houses the Upper Peninsula Fire Fighters Memorial Museum.
History
At the turn of the twentieth century, the threat of fire was constant in what was then a prosperous mining town. The construction of the fire station was started in 1898 and completed in 1899, using plans made by architect C. K. Shand. Although the station was built by the village of Calumet (then "Red Jacket"), the lot on which it sits was leased from the Calumet and Hecla Mining CompanyCalumet and Hecla Mining Company
The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company was a major copper-mining company based in the Michigan Copper Country. In the 19th century, the company paid out more than $72 million in shareholder dividends, more than any other mining company in the United States during that period.-History:In 1864, Edwin J...
until 1910, when the company deeded it to the village. The total cost of the building at the time was just over $20,000, including architectural work, stonework, and carpentry.
In 1964, the fire department moved to the town hall building. The building was used in various ways, including rooms for summer repertory performers at the nearby Calumet Theatre. It now houses the Upper Peninsula Fire Fighters Memorial Museum.
Description
The Calumet Fire Station is a two-story Richardsonian RomanesqueRichardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
building, rectangular in plan and measuring fifty-four feet by eighty-three feet. It is constructed from of red sandstone. Three fire engine entrances with wooden doors are in the center of the front facade. The doors are topped by a stepped gable which is flanked by a smaller gable on one side and an open bell tower with a pyrimidal roof sits the other. The roof of the structure is flat. Small doors are in each of the other three sides.
The building was originally constructed with the first floor housing fire engines and horses, with other equipment in the basement. The second floor primarily housed the fire fighters, but also held hay for the horses. The firemen's quarters included a bunk room, locker room, and a larger hall for social affairs.