Engine No.47 (Thursday Doors)

This magnificent red door is Engine Company No.47’s firehouse on West 113th Street between Amsterdam and Broadway in Manhattan. It’s often a sight on the daily neighborhood stroll.

The following is from the Landmarks Preservation Commission Report June 17, 1997,

“Building Description Engine Company No. 47 is a 25-foot wide, three-story brick and brownstone structure, faced with classically-inspired brownstone and terra-cotta detailing. While the predominant style of the building is Romanesque Revival, expressed through round-arched windows, the rusticated brownstone base, and the decorative, terra-cotta quoining, the building also exhibits influences of the then newly emerging Classical Revival style, reflected in the richly ornamented entablature below a heavy cornice, and the large medallions just below.”

Completed in 1889–90, it’s said to be an example of late 19th-century New York  municipal design. The architects were N. LeBrun & Sons – the FDNY’s official architects, responsible for more than 40 firehouses across the city.  In 1997 it was designated a New York City Individual Landmark.

The History

It opened in 1891 for “Combination No. 47” whose twelve firemen and four horses answered 57 alarms in their first year. It was built as part of the city’s push to expand fire protection during the rapid development of Upper Manhattan. 

This firehouse is still the home of Engine Company 47. Sometimes you can run into the firefighters shopping for firehouse groceries at The West Side Market on Broadway. 

Change

When I last photographed Engine 47 – in December 2021 – the white pipe on the sidewalk left was decorated as a Dalmatian. 

And this, of course, is because the Dalmatian is the traditional dog of the fire service.

This week it was just a plain old pipe. So why the Dalmatian?

Dalmatians and the Fire Service

The connection began in 18th-century England, where Dalmatians earned the title “coach dogs”. As strong and sturdy dogs they could run for miles alongside stagecoach horses. Their duties were critical: clearing pedestrians from the path, chasing off stray dogs that might spook the team, and guarding the valuable horses from thieves at night. 

With the advent of horse-drawn fire engines in the 19th century, Dalmatians were used to spring ahead to clear the road. It is said they had a calming effect on the horses fearful of –  and spooked by –  fires. During a fire, the dogs stood watch over the unguarded apparatus, protecting the brass fittings and hoses from looters. 

The Tradition and 9/11

The Dalmatian tradition held strong even after motor engines replaced the horses.

It was honored after the September 11, 2001 attacks, when New York’s Ladder Company 20 lost seven members at the World Trade Center. In a gesture of solidarity, the Rochester Fire Department gave the grieving company a Dalmatian puppy named “Twenty.” She grew up riding the rig for nearly seventeen years until her death in 2018.

This is from the American Kennel Club. I don’t have the photographer or the date. 

The featured image shows the Engine 47 firehouse in November 2025 on a background from Atlas of the borough of Manhattan, city of New York [1916] The firehouse is marked on the map – on W113th Street –  just west of Amsterdam Avenue

For more Thursday Doors – and about #ThursdayDoors – visit Dan Antion, who has lots of doors every week, To join in see. How to participate