• Charming Italianate architecture with granite arched entry and hand-carved brackets
• Adjacent to 1633 burial ground
• Temporary wooden buttresses pre-date Dudley Square's current development renaissance
Historic Boston Incorporated 1999 Preservation Revolving Fund Casebook : Property
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| Eustis Street Firehouse | Roxbury |
| • Oldest surviving
firehouse in Boston • Charming Italianate architecture with granite arched entry and hand-carved brackets • Adjacent to 1633 burial ground • Temporary wooden buttresses pre-date Dudley Square's current development renaissance |
|
| Name: Eustis Street Firehouse | Bldg SqFt: 1,240 | Lot SqFt: 1,790 | |
| Address: 20 Eustis Street | Ward: 8 | Parcel: 2454 | |
| Neighborhood: Roxbury | Zoning: Cemetery Open Space Subdistrict (OS-CM) | ||
| Year Built: 1859 | Use: Vacant | ||
| Style: Italianate | Condition: Poor | ||
| Architect(s): John Roulestone Hall | Owner: City of Boston, Department of Neighborhood Development |
||
| Historic Certification: Eliot Burying Ground National Register listing; Eustis Street Architectural Conservation (local) District | |||
| FY99 Building Assessment: $39,000 FY02 Building Assessment: $32,200 |
FY99 Tax: N/A FY02 Tax: N/A |
||
| FY99 Land Assessment: $13,000 FY02 Land Assessment: $17,800 |
Tax Status: Exempt | ||
Preservation Strategy:
HBI and the city's Neighborhood Development Agency should continue to monitor the structural stability of the firehouse to ensure the viability of its and the city’s investment in the 1995 emergency repairs. The city should commit itself to the preservation and reuse of the firehouse as a city-owned historic property because of the difficulties of creating a marketable, insurable title since eaves overhang the cemetery and a now-demolished part of the structure was on land owned by a private abutter.
Significance:
Eustis Street Firehouse, built by the city of Roxbury in 1859, stands on an original portion of the adjacent Eliot Burying Ground (established 1633) and replaced an 1829 wood frame firehouse on the same site. The brick firehouse is a fine example of a small-scale Italianate public building, highlighted with granite details and ornate wooden brackets. After Roxbury’s annexation in 1868, the city of Boston enlarged the building with a rear frame addition (demolished 1991) to accommodate stables and more modern fire fighting equipment. Eustis Street Firehouse served "Hook and Ladder Co. No. 4" until 1881 and "Chemical Wagon No. 10" from 1889 until 1916. Company No. 4 participated in fighting the Great Boston Fire of 1872. The Fire Department abandoned the building in 1926 and leased the building to a Spanish-American War veterans post until 1954.
Preservation Challenges:
Before the city can convey a marketable, insurable title to this property, the State Legislature must grant an easement to the owner because the Firehouse eaves overhang the cemetery. Its isolated site and small square footage vitiates the financial feasibility of development. Structural problems continue to be severe despite emergency repairs provided by the city and HBI in 1995, for which HBI contributed $10,000 to the total cost of at least $60,000. These repairs included construction of six massive exterior wooden buttresses to support the building’s side elevations.
Neighborhood Context:
Roxbury Heritage State Park appears to have stepped back from its 1988 master plan calling for improvement and interpretation of historic properties in the Eustis Street area. In 1988-89, HBI provided $85,000 of its own and private foundation funds for tombstone conservation at the adjacent city-owned Eliot Burying Ground. The city has stabilized and secured the front portion of the nearby Nawn Factory at 2078 Washington Street, also in the Eustis Street Architectural Conservation Area, having demolished the rear two-thirds of that vacant historic building in the early 1990s because of structural deterioration. Pairing with the Nawn Factory could provide the much-needed impetus for the preservation and reuse of the Eustis Street Firehouse.
Other Sources of Information:
HBI Files; BLC Building Information Form; Roxbury Heritage State Park Documents
Entry Completed: 06/02/1999
Although the City seems intent on preserving the Firehouse, it has made no effort toward putting the building back into use. The Department of Neighborhood Development hopes to hold community meetings within the next year to canvass community desires for reuse.Update Entry Completed: 08/09/2002