Watts De Peyster Fireman's Hall
Encyclopedia
The Watts De Peyster Fireman's Hall is located on Broadway in the village of Tivoli
, New York, United States. John Watts De Peyster
, a resident, paid for it and gave it to the village for its fire department in 1898. It is a brick "storefront" firehouse, a type of fire station more commonly seen in cities at the time than small rural villages like Tivoli.
Since the construction of a new firehouse in 1986 it has been the village hall. In 1989 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, and three years later it also became a contributing property
to the Hudson River Historic District
, a National Historic Landmark
.
wide by four deep, on a half-acre (2,000 m²) lot
in downtown Tivoli. It is faced in brick laid in English bond
with contrasting stone courses
at the floor levels. The hipped
slate roof is pierced by a dormer with gable
d parapet
top, four chimneys and a round turret
ed tower rising from the southwest corner. The roofline's cornice
is broken in front by the dormer.
On the northern (front) facade
, the first floor has two former garage openings, now filled with paneled wooden doors, and a regular entrance between them. The course above them consists of stone blocks with oak leaves, a traditional European symbol in heraldry
for firefighters. A cornerstone
gives the architect, builder and date of construction, and a marble dedication plaque
memorializes Watts and de Peyster. The stone basement
is visible along the side and rear elevations.
Inside, the first floor is divided into the two large bays used originally for fire engines, with plaster walls, wainscoting, pressed tin ceilings and wooden-plank floors. The second floor, used originally as meeting rooms, has similar finishing as well as thin cast iron
columns in its largest room. All rooms have their original carved mantel
and fireplace cover. The third floor is a single large room with two large wood braces supporting the ceiling.
There is one outbuilding, a garage built during the mid-20th century. It is not considered a contributing property
.
as a village of the Town of Red Hook in 1872, after a period of tremendous growth due to commerce along the Hudson River
. Two smaller existing settlements, Upper Red Hook Landing and Madalin, were combined in the new municipality.
As soon as the village came into existence, its government discussed the need for a new firehouse to serve the community. These discussions continued for a quarter-century, during which its commercial importance began to decline. In 1896 the Village Board passed legislation creating a fire department and calling a special election to decide how it would be financed. Two years later John Watts De Peyster
, a wealthy resident of the area and village president as well as an influential authority on firefighting, saved the village the trouble by hiring local architect Michael O'Connor to design a new firehouse. Once it was built, he leased it to the village.
In 1900, during a tax dispute with the village, he barred the board from meeting there. He had also threatened to close the firehouse if his estranged son, who had been elected village president, was allowed in the building. Seven years later, upon his death, the lease passed to a local orphanage he had founded. That arrangement lasted until 1921, when his descendants bought the orphanage's lease out and donated the building to the village. The fireman's hall was restored and renovated sometime prior to 2005.
Tivoli, New York
Tivoli is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 1,118 at the 2010 census. The village, which was incorporated in 1872 from parts of Upper Red Hook Landing and Madalin, is the northernmost settlement in the county, located in the northwest part of the Town of Red...
, New York, United States. John Watts De Peyster
John Watts de Peyster
John Watts de Peyster, Sr. was an author on the art of war, philanthropist, and early Adjutant General of the New York National Guard. He served in the New York State Militia during the Mexican-American War and American Civil War...
, a resident, paid for it and gave it to the village for its fire department in 1898. It is a brick "storefront" firehouse, a type of fire station more commonly seen in cities at the time than small rural villages like Tivoli.
Since the construction of a new firehouse in 1986 it has been the village hall. In 1989 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, and three years later it also became a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the Hudson River Historic District
Hudson River Historic District
The Hudson River Historic District, also known as Hudson River Heritage Historic District, is the largest such district on the mainland of the contiguous United States...
, a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Building
The firehouse is a three-story building, three baysBay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
wide by four deep, on a half-acre (2,000 m²) lot
Lot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
in downtown Tivoli. It is faced in brick laid in English bond
Brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
with contrasting stone courses
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
at the floor levels. The hipped
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
slate roof is pierced by a dormer with gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
top, four chimneys and a round turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
ed tower rising from the southwest corner. The roofline's cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
is broken in front by the dormer.
On the northern (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, the first floor has two former garage openings, now filled with paneled wooden doors, and a regular entrance between them. The course above them consists of stone blocks with oak leaves, a traditional European symbol in heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
for firefighters. A cornerstone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
gives the architect, builder and date of construction, and a marble dedication plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
memorializes Watts and de Peyster. The stone basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
is visible along the side and rear elevations.
Inside, the first floor is divided into the two large bays used originally for fire engines, with plaster walls, wainscoting, pressed tin ceilings and wooden-plank floors. The second floor, used originally as meeting rooms, has similar finishing as well as thin cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
columns in its largest room. All rooms have their original carved mantel
Mantel
Mantel is a municipality in the district of Neustadt in Bavaria in Germany....
and fireplace cover. The third floor is a single large room with two large wood braces supporting the ceiling.
There is one outbuilding, a garage built during the mid-20th century. It is not considered a contributing property
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
.
History
Tivoli was incorporatedMunicipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
as a village of the Town of Red Hook in 1872, after a period of tremendous growth due to commerce along the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. Two smaller existing settlements, Upper Red Hook Landing and Madalin, were combined in the new municipality.
As soon as the village came into existence, its government discussed the need for a new firehouse to serve the community. These discussions continued for a quarter-century, during which its commercial importance began to decline. In 1896 the Village Board passed legislation creating a fire department and calling a special election to decide how it would be financed. Two years later John Watts De Peyster
John Watts de Peyster
John Watts de Peyster, Sr. was an author on the art of war, philanthropist, and early Adjutant General of the New York National Guard. He served in the New York State Militia during the Mexican-American War and American Civil War...
, a wealthy resident of the area and village president as well as an influential authority on firefighting, saved the village the trouble by hiring local architect Michael O'Connor to design a new firehouse. Once it was built, he leased it to the village.
In 1900, during a tax dispute with the village, he barred the board from meeting there. He had also threatened to close the firehouse if his estranged son, who had been elected village president, was allowed in the building. Seven years later, upon his death, the lease passed to a local orphanage he had founded. That arrangement lasted until 1921, when his descendants bought the orphanage's lease out and donated the building to the village. The fireman's hall was restored and renovated sometime prior to 2005.