History
Past
The Municipal Building Fire Station: Built in 1899 by Sullivan and Badgley, the former Municipal Building Fire Station is a National Register Historic Building in the Village of Johnson City, NY. The 3 story building offers approximately 25,000 square feet of usable space.
In its early life, the first floor of the building held the fire wagons and horses of the Lestershire Fire Department. The facility also contained the Mayor’s Office and an elaborately paneled courtroom. The basement held Village Offices, an etched vault and several bowling lanes.
Present
Today in the entrance area you will find the beautiful art deco bar from the former “Music Box” Jazz Club, which was located a few doors down on Willow Street. The space is lively and eclectic with several “Audience Walls” containing portraits of historic New Yorkers and local donors. There is an Endicott Johnson Shoes Mural in the Sentry Alarms Patron Lounge.
Future
When built, the Municipal Building Fire Station constructed unusually large volume interior spans. These open spans make it an ideal location for reuse as rehearsal space and as an alternative theater performance venue.
The third floor is slated to become a 300-seat thrust style performance venue called the “Rooftop Playhouse” The second floor and basement will become dressing rooms and support space for the complex.
Firehouse History
I interviewed someone who worked in the Village Offices in the early 1970’s.
Edward Tomic was the Village Treasurer. Among the senior office staff were Mary Morgan, Dorothy West, Katherine Kelly and Joan Spalik.
The Collections Office was on the first floor. The offices of Fire Chief William Grace, Village Engineer Walter Sleeper and Public Work Superintendent were on the second floor, as well as the payroll clerks. Information from payroll spreadsheets was entered into a Burroughs posting machine. The first floor was considerably higher than normal to accommodate the fire trucks, making the staircase extra-long.
There was no smoking in the building, so one of Chief Grace’s visitors stubbed out his cigarette and tucked it into a pants pocket for later retrieval. Unfortunately, the cigarette wasn’t completely out, his pants caught fire, and he had to run down that long flight of stairs slapping at his burning pants! Parts of the second floor were uneven, and it could be a challenge to keep your desk chair from rolling away!
The second floor also housed the fire department bedrooms and kitchen. There were 60 members of the fire department at the time. She remembers them as a friendly group who often shared whatever they were cooking with the office staff. One young clerk was persuaded to try sliding down the pole. She found it fun, but decided once was enough! While we may find the idea of sliding down the fire pole amusing, firefighters doing it in full gear was a serious matter. The third floor housed the Mayor’s Office and Village Board Room.
-Janet Ottman
Support the FIREHOUSE STAGE!
The Schorr Family Firehouse Stage is an intimate and flexible performance venue located on the first floor of a Municipal Building Fire Station on Willow Street in Johnson City, NY. This venue currently houses over 65 events per year in an annual season that runs from September to June, including Comedy, Music and Kids shows.