Then and Then and Now: Engine Company No. 12

Engine Company No. 12 at 1626 North Capitol Street before 1910 (top), in the mid-1930s (bottom left), and today. Past images from the Library of Congress.

Built in 1897, the firehouse was the beginning of the City’s period of eclectic firehouse design. This Spanish Colonial firehouse began a tradition that lasted until 1916 where design varied with each new structure. Engine 12 remained at this location until it moved to new quarters in 1987.

The property remains vacant today awaiting a new occupant. The last promising occupant was 2020 Martini, a the three-story, 10,000-square-foot brick oven pizza/pasta/sushi/martini restaurant and bar that began restoring the property in 2008 before work abruptly stopped.