Property Record
165 W WASHINGTON ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | BURLINGTON FIRE DEPARTMENT |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 221457 |
| Location (Address): | 165 W WASHINGTON ST |
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| County: | Racine |
| City: | Burlington |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
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| Year Built: | 1968 |
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| Additions: | 1992 |
| Survey Date: | 2011 |
| Historic Use: | fire house |
| Architectural Style: | Contemporary |
| Structural System: | Balloon Frame |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | SCHERRER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY (BUILDER) |
| Other Buildings On Site: | N |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | Burlington’s first volunteer fire department was organized in 1877. At that time, fire protection was administered with water kept in large wood or stone neighborhood cisterns and a man-drawn hose cart supplied with 300 feet of rubber or cotton hose. The issue of a public water source and fire protection, which were contributing factors that led to the incorporation as a village, were not resolved until 1889, when an artesian well was drilled to provide the village with a public water source. In 1890, the department was reorganized as two: a hose company and a hook and ladder company. They were equipped by the city with 1,000 feet of new hose, a new hose wagon, a warning bell in the village hall tower, and new facilities at Village Hall. Old Burlington Village & Town Hall; which, located at 380-388 N. Pine Street, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing resource to the Downtown Historic District. Around 1907, a fire alarm system was installed comprised of ten alarm boxes throughout the city. In 1910, the city established a Fire & Police Commission. The fire department purchased its first motorized truck in 1918. In 1919, the fire department relocated to the Burlington Water Works building; at which site were located three wells and a 150,000-gallon reservoir. The Burlington Water Works, located at 164 Commerce Street, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing resource to the Downtown Historic District. In 1962, a new building was constructed for the fire department on Washington Street at a cost of $130,000 and utilizing pre-cast structural concrete members manufactured by Burlington’s J. W. Peters & Son, Inc. The Burlington Fire Department is located at 135 W. Washington Street. An addition to the fire department designed by Burlington architect Tom Stelling was built by Scherrer Construction in 1992 for $311,500. |
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| Bibliographic References: | General Files. On file at the Burlington Historical Society, Burlington, Wisconsin. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |