{"nrhp_refnum":"72000870","name":"Firehouse, Engine Company 31","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"87 Lafayette St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Manhattan","state":"NY","lat":40.71728073300005,"lon":-74.00103895099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-01-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-and-one-half-story firehouse at 87 Lafayette Street in Manhattan, New York City, built in 1895 and designed by the firm of Napoleon Le Brun & Sons.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the firehouse is unusual because its scale, detail and workmanship resemble the private mansions then being built along Fifth Avenue. It is one of a group of firehouses the City commissioned from architects around the turn of the century. The care given to its appearance reflects the pride of the fire-fighting profession and the department's role in City government.","narrative":"Engine Company 31's firehouse at 87 Lafayette Street in Manhattan dates from 1895 and was designed by the firm of Napoleon Le Brun & Sons. It rises three and one-half stories, with a three-bay west facade, a five-bay south facade and a tower at their corner. The first floor and tower are ashlar stone, the second floor is Roman brick, and a high slate hipped roof carries a stone balustrade, iron crestings and dormers. Shells, dolphins and floral wreaths decorate the facades. The building belongs to a group of firehouses the City of New York commissioned from architects around 1900, including Le Brun and Ernest Flagg. Its scale, detail and workmanship resemble the mansions then going up along Fifth Avenue, which shows the pride of the fire service and its standing in city government. It remains a working firehouse, notable for standing in a mostly commercial neighborhood of fairly recent, unremarkable buildings.","period_of_significance":"1895","architect_builder":"Napoleon Le Brun & Sons","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Excellent condition, unaltered, on its original site, and still functioning as a working fire house.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:40.082156-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/72000870.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000870/812f798e62-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000870/812f798e62-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Plausible deniability at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DCTV-DN-firehouse-800x600.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Plausible deniability at English Wikipedia</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DCTV-DN-firehouse-800x600.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319487","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firehouse,_Engine_Company_31","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5451867"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/manhattan/firehouse-engine-company-31-72000870/"}