Draft:Troy Hill Fire House

• Comment: Noting that this was previously deleted under G12 and listed at copyright problems as a copyvio from here. Tenshi! (Talk page) 23:59, 25 May 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: Please fix all the broken refs. GoldRomean (talk) 23:50, 25 May 2025 (UTC)

• Comment: In accordance with the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use, I disclose that I have been paid by my employer for my contributions to this article. Drberman113 (talk) 23:05, 25 May 2025 (UTC)

---

Troy Hill Fire House 39#
Pittsburgh Landmark
Location	Pittsburgh, PA
Built	1901
Architect	Joseph Stillburg
Architectural style	Romanesque

Situated at 1800 Ley Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, Troy Hill Fire House #39 is a two-story brick structure marked by its stylistic blend of Beaux Arts and Romanesque supplemented by vernacular influences. Constructed in 1901, the structure was initially conceived as a home for the neighborhood's hose company; a function it would fulfill before being turned into a civic building in 2005. As of 2022, the firehouse is a Pittsburgh Historic Landmark.

History

In 1873, the Allegheny City Fire Department documented expansion into the Troy Hill neighborhood with the construction of its first firehouse. The said firehouse was sited on the same plot as the current building. In May of that same year, the ownership of the plot would be transferred to the City of Allegheny, as recorded by its deeds office. Fire Station No. 39 rests on part of the foundation of an earlier firehouse, a smaller brick structure on the corner of what was then Forest and Branch Streets (now Froman and Ley), and the 131 Branch Street saloon then owned by Mrs. C. Dornberger. "Engine House No. 11" has its first cartographic record in the 1890 Allegheny City Hopkins map.

In 1872, the fire department's chief in tandem with Alleghany's Fire Committee, first sought an expansion of a house and ladder station to the isolated Troy Hill. Two years after this proposal, a new company would be established in the neighborhood's Seventh ward. The first Troy Hill station featured the same Richardsonian Romanesque scheme at a diminished scale. The catalyst for further establishing a network of fire stations was the agenda of then-Chief of the Allegheny Fire Department, James E. Crow. Following Crow's death in 1893, his replacement, John K. Hunter, continued the late chief's work. During his tenure, the initial fire station at Troy Hill was replaced with the current structure.

Allegheny's 1907 incorporation into Pittsburgh saw the station's name being changed to Fire Company No. 51 as to fit the numbering system of the latter municipality. Later changes in naming conventions resulted in the current designation of No. 39.

The fire station continued to serve its original purpose until 2005. In the mid-2000s, an urban restructuring resulted in the consolidation of neighboring fire stations due to coupled population declines and tighter budgets. Upon closing, the station was the oldest existing fire service structure in the city.

Architecture

The fire house was designed by Austrian American Architect Joseph Stillburg. Stillburg was a famous architect in the Pittsburgh region. Significant works included the now demolished Exposition Buildings. Stillburg's work showcases the mature understanding of the Art Nouveau's naturalistic qualities, as outlined by Viollet-le-Duc, and the applied ornament of Romanesque.

Stillburg's design is the few remaining Italianate/Beaux Arts style fire stations favored by the City of Allegheny at the turn of the century. Beaux Arts schemes are utilized in terra-cotta fenestration and door surrounds complete with cornice bands and the pointed arch. Vernacular interpretations of materiality are seen with the facades of white-blonde brick, a stone common characteristic of Pittsburgh, formerly Allegheny's, North Side neighborhoods. The square central tower is a key stylistic element in the vocabulary of the late 19th century Italianate. Civic buildings of this stylistic interpretation have become rare in Pittsburgh following urban renewal movements across the 20th century.