{"nrhp_refnum":"04000533","name":"Engine House No. 6","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"480 Howard St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lawrence","county":"Essex County","state":"MA","lat":42.71371111600007,"lon":-71.14934465499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-06-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A municipal fire station at 480 Howard Street, atop Prospect Hill in Lawrence, Essex County, Massachusetts, built in 1895-96 to designs by local architect John Ashton.","why_significant":"It is the oldest remaining and best-preserved fire station in Lawrence, retaining original features such as stained glass, oak paneling, a hose drying shaft and a feed-hauling winch. It reflects the city's growth and the shift to a full-time professional fire force housed in neighborhood stations. Its design echoes the nearby Rollins School and served as the model for a later station.","narrative":"Engine House No. 6 is a brick fire station on Prospect Hill in Lawrence, Massachusetts, built in 1895-96 and designed by local architect John Ashton. Granite string courses, copper dormers, a rounded observation bay and a hexagonal cupola mark its exterior. Inside, oak paneling, stained glass windows with firefighting themes, a brass fire pole and a hose drying shaft survive. A winch on the exterior once hoisted hay and oats for the fire horses stabled on site. It is the oldest remaining fire station in the city and remains in service. It was built as Prospect Hill grew into a crowded residential neighborhood that needed city services, and it reflects the move to a trained, full-time firefighting force living at the station. Ashton borrowed gables, decoration and materials from the John Rollins School across the street, whose clock tower once carried the fire alarm bells. A later station on Bailey Street was built from the same plans, with a hose tower added.","period_of_significance":"1895-1954","architect_builder":"John Ashton, architect","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival/Victorian Eclectic","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a fire station, its original purpose; the original alarm system remains and awaits restoration.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:05.139432-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/7947/63794798/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/04000533.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000533/fec8f5bf0b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000533/fec8f5bf0b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"EraserGirl","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Engine_House_No._6,_Lawrence,_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">EraserGirl</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Engine_House_No._6,_Lawrence,_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794798","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_House_No._6_(Lawrence,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5377721"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/essex-county/engine-house-no-6-04000533/"}