This Victorian style fire house from 1893 was from the time before motorized fire equipment or synthetic fibers. The five story tall part of the building is not a chimney but the buildings hose tower, an important part of all fire houses of the time. The insides of the fire hoses at the time had cotton liners, which would absorb some of the water running through them. If this was allow to stay, it would cause the hose to rot, which necessitates there need for them to be properly dried before returning them to the equipment. These tall towers had special racks to hold the hoses open at full length to dry. The horses were stabled downstairs while the men lived upstairs. Interesting to note also, although the sign on the building says 'Engine 27', it was actually Engine 21. The two were motorized in 1915, and relocated to modern buildings in 1958. When the Fire Department tried to sell the iconic landmark building as surplus, the local merchants and neighbors made such a protest, the building was taken off the surplus list. In the years since, it has been used for Department storage and a gym. It is now the oldest active building in the San Francisco Fire Department. As seen 5 January 2025.
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