JeffReuben
Queens Fire Alarm Telegraph Station
The building in this photo is the Queens Fire Alarm Telegraph Station, located in Forest Park, at the corner of Woodhaven Boulevard and Park Lane South (formerly known as Ashland Street), in the New York City borough of Queens. It was built as a central dispatching office for the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY). The facility started operating in 1928 and is still used by the FDNY. New York developed facilities of this type in each of the five boroughs as part of improvements to the city's fire alarm system. They were deliberately placed in parks to isolate them from other buildings, in order to reduce the possibility that a fire from neighboring buildings would spread to them. At the time it opened, this facility served all of Queens, except Astoria and Long Island City, which were already served by the Brooklyn central office that opened in 1923.
City officials quoted in the Daily Star of 29 July 1925 hailed the station as "an advanced step forward making Queens safe against fire." The new facility allowed for more space and equipment to accommodate improvements in Queens' fire alarm system. The FDNY previously operated its fire alarm central office in a "damp basement" in the Town Hall in Jamaica. The new facility was touted as providing capacity to serve the borough for the next 100 years.
The design of this building, which features Beaux-Arts and neo-Georgian features, is attributed to John R. Sliney, the FDNY's long time chief Building Inspector. Even before it was completed, the Long Island Daily Press praised its design. In an 18 January 1926 article, the paper concluded that "a civic structure of real beauty will the grace this corner then. It will be set well back from the street on the crest of a terraced and landscape slope. Steps will lead from the sidewalk through the gardens in a semicircle to doors in the two wings which will branch out from each side of the center of the building, topped by a handsome dome and cupola. Trees, shrubs, and lawns will add to the attractiveness of the structure." Nine decades later it is still an apt description.
A ground breaking ceremony was held in September 1925. However, it was not put into service until November 1928, although a formal opening ceremony was held in July 1928. According to news reports, the building was completed in 1926, but needed improvements to and connections with the fire alarm system delayed its opening. As one newspaper put it, "a fire alarm telegraph building isn't of much use without a telegraph system."
Construction of the building at this location was vociferously opposed by many community groups and politicians at the time it was proposed. In fact when the project was first planned it was intended to be at a different location in Forest Park, at Myrtle Avenue and 108th Street. Even after the site was changed, protests continued. The Leader-Observer, a "live local" weekly newspaper in the area supported opponents of the plan to place the Fire Alarm Telegraph Station at the Woodhaven location. "There seems to be no good reason," the paper contended in an editorial in its 1 October 1925 edition, "why the parks of the city should be used for the accommodation of public buildings." It added, "city parks are for recreation purposes and should not be desecrated by unsightly buildings."
With the passage of time, it seems the opponents opinions were misguided. The Long Island Daily Press, disagreeing with the sentiment of the Leader-Observer, noted that "the appearance of the building when it is completed and the grounds landscaped, will add greatly to the beauty and distinctiveness of its location and surroundings, say those in charge." This time, at least, those in charge have been proven right. As the Leader-Observer newspaper reported on 26 November 2013, a local artist Madeline Lovallo, who paints picturesque locations, created a well-received painting of the Fire Alarm Telegraph Station.
For more information on this and New York's other Fire Alarm Telegraph Stations, please see my article on Untapped New York at:
untappedcities.com/2016/04/21/nycs-beautiful-and-mysterio...
Queens Fire Alarm Telegraph Station
The building in this photo is the Queens Fire Alarm Telegraph Station, located in Forest Park, at the corner of Woodhaven Boulevard and Park Lane South (formerly known as Ashland Street), in the New York City borough of Queens. It was built as a central dispatching office for the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY). The facility started operating in 1928 and is still used by the FDNY. New York developed facilities of this type in each of the five boroughs as part of improvements to the city's fire alarm system. They were deliberately placed in parks to isolate them from other buildings, in order to reduce the possibility that a fire from neighboring buildings would spread to them. At the time it opened, this facility served all of Queens, except Astoria and Long Island City, which were already served by the Brooklyn central office that opened in 1923.
City officials quoted in the Daily Star of 29 July 1925 hailed the station as "an advanced step forward making Queens safe against fire." The new facility allowed for more space and equipment to accommodate improvements in Queens' fire alarm system. The FDNY previously operated its fire alarm central office in a "damp basement" in the Town Hall in Jamaica. The new facility was touted as providing capacity to serve the borough for the next 100 years.
The design of this building, which features Beaux-Arts and neo-Georgian features, is attributed to John R. Sliney, the FDNY's long time chief Building Inspector. Even before it was completed, the Long Island Daily Press praised its design. In an 18 January 1926 article, the paper concluded that "a civic structure of real beauty will the grace this corner then. It will be set well back from the street on the crest of a terraced and landscape slope. Steps will lead from the sidewalk through the gardens in a semicircle to doors in the two wings which will branch out from each side of the center of the building, topped by a handsome dome and cupola. Trees, shrubs, and lawns will add to the attractiveness of the structure." Nine decades later it is still an apt description.
A ground breaking ceremony was held in September 1925. However, it was not put into service until November 1928, although a formal opening ceremony was held in July 1928. According to news reports, the building was completed in 1926, but needed improvements to and connections with the fire alarm system delayed its opening. As one newspaper put it, "a fire alarm telegraph building isn't of much use without a telegraph system."
Construction of the building at this location was vociferously opposed by many community groups and politicians at the time it was proposed. In fact when the project was first planned it was intended to be at a different location in Forest Park, at Myrtle Avenue and 108th Street. Even after the site was changed, protests continued. The Leader-Observer, a "live local" weekly newspaper in the area supported opponents of the plan to place the Fire Alarm Telegraph Station at the Woodhaven location. "There seems to be no good reason," the paper contended in an editorial in its 1 October 1925 edition, "why the parks of the city should be used for the accommodation of public buildings." It added, "city parks are for recreation purposes and should not be desecrated by unsightly buildings."
With the passage of time, it seems the opponents opinions were misguided. The Long Island Daily Press, disagreeing with the sentiment of the Leader-Observer, noted that "the appearance of the building when it is completed and the grounds landscaped, will add greatly to the beauty and distinctiveness of its location and surroundings, say those in charge." This time, at least, those in charge have been proven right. As the Leader-Observer newspaper reported on 26 November 2013, a local artist Madeline Lovallo, who paints picturesque locations, created a well-received painting of the Fire Alarm Telegraph Station.
For more information on this and New York's other Fire Alarm Telegraph Stations, please see my article on Untapped New York at:
untappedcities.com/2016/04/21/nycs-beautiful-and-mysterio...