Fire Station No. 4 (Pawtucket, Rhode Island) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Fire Station No. 4
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 Location in Rhode Island
Location in the United States
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| Location | Pawtucket, Rhode Island |
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| Built | 1890 |
| Architect | William R. Walker & Son |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| MPS | Pawtucket MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 83003819 |
| Added to NRHP | November 18, 1983 |
Fire Station Number 4 is a historic building located at 474 Broadway in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It was also known as the Collyer Fire Station. This building was designed in the beautiful Queen Anne Style and was built in 1890.
The station is a two-and-a-half-story brick building with a sloped roof and two brick sections that stick out. It also has a tall bell tower. The building is made of red bricks with light-colored sandstone around the windows and for decoration. You can see a special clay plaque on the building that shows its name and when it was built.
Fire Station Number 4 stopped being a firehouse in 1974. A new Fire Station Number 4 opened on Cottage Street that year. The inside of the old building was changed a lot to make space for offices and meeting rooms. Today, the building is used by the Catholic Charities of Providence. Fire Station Number 4 was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 because of its history and design.
Building Features and Design
Fire Station Number 4, also called the Collyer Fire Station, was built between 1887 and 1888. It was finished and named in 1890. The main part of this Queen Anne-styled red brick firehouse is two-and-a-half stories tall. It has a sloped roof with a pointed section facing Broadway.
Two smaller, one-story sections with sloped roofs stick out from the long sides of the building. The building also has small porches with arched openings at the main entrance and on the side facing Broadway.
Even though it's mostly red brick, light-colored sandstone was used for the window sills (the bottom part of the window frame) and lintels (the top part of the window frame), as well as for other decorations. The building has detailed clay artwork. There's a fancy plaque with its name and date on the front. Above this plaque is a round-topped window.
The corner of the building has a square tower that was used for drying fire hoses and holding a bell. This tower also has a round-topped window.
Over the years, the station has been changed. Its two large fire engine doors were removed and replaced with modern garage doors. The pointed roof on top of the bell tower was taken off before 1983. The inside of the firehouse was changed a lot to create office and meeting spaces. However, some original parts, like the Queen Anne staircase and special panel doors, are still there. Even with these changes, the building was important enough to be listed on the historic register.
How the Building Was Used
In 1974, a new Fire Station Number 4 opened on 397 Cottage Street, replacing the old one. The old fire station was later reused through a special program that helped adapt old buildings in the late 1970s and 1980s.
By the time it was nominated for the National Register, the fire station was being used as offices and meeting rooms for city groups. In 2014, the building was used by the Catholic Charities of Providence for Project Hope. This project helps the community with support and social services. In 2017, a lawyer named John S. Simonian became a tenant in the building.
Why This Building Is Important
Fire Station Number 4 is important because it's a great example of a late 19th-century Queen Anne-style firehouse. Its special features include the decorative brickwork and clay trim. It's also historically important because it shows how Pawtucket grew and became a more developed city.
The property is known as Plat 7B, lot 164, and includes the area around it, which is less than one acre. Fire Station Number 4 was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 18, 1983.
