{"nrhp_refnum":"88000242","name":"Fire Station No. 4","other_names":["Maxwell Place Fire Station"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"301 Maxwell Pl.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Elmira","county":"Chemung County","state":"NY","lat":42.10483893600005,"lon":-76.80688993840027,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-03-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story rectangular brick fire station at 301 Maxwell Place in Elmira, Chemung County, New York, built in 1897 and designed by the Elmira firm Pierce & Bickford. It sits on a 1.7-acre parcel shared with Diven Park.","why_significant":"The station is presented as a distinguished example of turn-of-the-century firehouse design, with Flemish Renaissance-inspired stepped gables, patterned brickwork and terra cotta ornamentation. It is also the work of Pierce and Bickford, Elmira's leading architectural firm from 1890 to 1920, and the only one of their fire stations still standing in the city. Its original plan and firemen's amenities illustrate national trends in fire station layout.","narrative":"Fire Station No. 4 is a two-story brick firehouse completed in 1897 on Maxwell Place in Elmira, beside Diven Park. It protected the city's northeast section until it closed in early 1986. Its most distinctive feature is a roof with four stepped gables, one on each side, decorated with terra cotta urns, Palladian windows and patterned yellow and grey brickwork. Designed by Pierce and Bickford, Elmira's leading architectural firm between 1890 and 1920, the building reflects the Renaissance-inspired civic design popular at the time. It is the only one of the firm's fire stations still standing within the city. Inside, the original layout remains readable, including the sloping engine room floor, the sitting room, the bunk room and the hay loft, even though the horse stalls were removed in the 1920s when motorized equipment arrived. The features show how fire stations of the period combined efficient operation with comfortable quarters for firemen.","period_of_significance":"1897-1898","architect_builder":"Pierce & Bickford","architectural_style":"Flemish Renaissance-inspired eclectic design","criteria":[],"status_note":"Served the northeast section of Elmira from 1897 until it closed in early 1986; listed as unoccupied and vacant, in good condition, with some alterations.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.192593-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/88000242.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000242/5fab09cef9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000242/5fab09cef9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Lvklock","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fire_Station_No_4.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lvklock</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fire_Station_No_4.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75316818","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Station_No._4_(Elmira,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5451475"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/chemung-county/fire-station-no-4-88000242/"}