From Phil Stenholm:
Another installment in the History of the Evanston Fire Department.
In its most recent inspection of the EFD in 1935, the National Board of Fire Underwriters (NBFU) recommended that Truck Company 2 be moved from Station #1 to a new Station #2 in South Evanston, which would accommodate an aerial ladder truck. It also suggested creating a third truck company at a new Station #3 in North Evanston, with space for an aerial ladder truck as well. Additionally, Engine Company 5 was to be relocated from Station #1 to a proposed fifth station near Grant and Central Park in northwest Evanston. Chief Dorband took these recommendations very seriously when designing the new fire stations.
The new Station #2 was built as a two-story, three-bay headquarters station, complete with space for a tractor-drawn aerial ladder truck and EFD administrative offices. It was located on the southwest corner of Madison and Custer, one block west of the original Station #2. The old Station #2 at 750 Chicago Avenue was later sold to a private individual and eventually became an automobile dealership, then a restaurant about twenty years later.
The new Station #3 was a single-story, three-bay structure, with one bay long enough to eventually house an aerial ladder truck. It was constructed on a vacant lot owned by the Metropolitan Sanitary District and leased to the City of Evanston. Located on the east side of the North Shore Channel, it was a block west of Evanston Hospital and about a mile from the Northwestern University campus. The site was at the northeast corner of Central Street and what was once Cooper Avenue before the canal was built in 1908. The old Station #3 at 2504 Green Bay Road was sold and converted into a photography studio.
However, the construction of Fire Station #5 proved to be more challenging than expected.
Chief Dorband’s plan called for Station #5 to be built on what used to be Bennett Avenue, between Perkins Woods and Lincolnwood Elementary School. A portion of Bennett Avenue had been closed in the 1920s when Perkins Woods was established as a Cook County Forest Preserve, but the city still held the right-of-way. The first-due area for Station #5 would cover all of northwest Evanston, as well as a large part of the 5th Ward, including areas north of Church Street and west of the C&NW RR Mayfair Division freight tracks.
Planned as a long, narrow one-story, one-bay residential-style firehouse set back from the street, the single apparatus bay would be on the south side of the building, with access via Grant Street. The living quarters would include a living room, kitchen, dining room, bunk room, bathroom with a shower, captain’s office, storage room, and a watch desk with a radio and telephone, divided by a long hallway. The front entrance and parking area would be on the Colfax Street side. The station was to have the address 2700 Colfax Street.
But the Lincolnwood School PTA raised concerns, arguing that a fire station so close to the school could endanger students if emergency vehicles were responding while children were arriving or leaving. The city council agreed, though Chief Dorband was upset, pointing out that the aldermen had previously approved the construction of Fire Station #1 on Lake Street in 1949, even though it was just a half-block from St. Mary’s School.
With the Perkins Woods location ruled out, the city considered a playground park at the northeast corner of Simpson and Bennett (now Porter Park) as an alternative. While the land was already owned by the city and closer to the 5th Ward, local residents opposed replacing their park with a fire station. Plus, the site was nearly two miles away from some parts of the High Ridge neighborhood northwest of Crawford and Gross Point Road.
Desperate for a solution, the city looked at a vacant lot at the northwest corner of Central Park Avenue and the south alley of Central Street. It was reasonably priced and had enough space for a two-bay Chicago FD-style firehouse. However, Northminster Presbyterian Church leaders objected, claiming that a fire station nearby would disrupt Sunday services, Wednesday prayer meetings, and choir practice.
With a voter mandate to build a new fire station in northwest Evanston and the necessary funds, the city reluctantly purchased a lot on the south side of Central Street at Reese Avenue. Though it cost more than the aldermen had hoped, the footprint was sufficient for a two-bay firehouse. Although this location was half a mile further from the 5th Ward than the original Perkins Woods site, it was well-suited to serve northwest Evanston all the way up to Crawford and Old Glenview Road.
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