06/27/12 162 W, 1 I - + 3 - 7 Old Hose Wagon, Old Station 3
Here's today's random historical photo, a copy of a poorly preserved photograph of a horse-drawn hose wagon outside old Station 3, which was located at 135 E. Hargett Street. That's the present parking lot on the northwest corner of the intersection of Blount and Hargett streets. Before opening as Station 3 in 1913, the engine house served the Victor Fire Company. It was built in 1898. The Victor Company was all-black, so we'll presume this picture was taken in 1913 or 1914. Hose 3 was motorized in 1914, after the department's third motor apparatus was delivered. (Have any photos survived of the Victor Company? Not as we've found. Pictures from that period are exceptionally scare.) As for the fire station, believe we're seeing the back of the building. The columns on the far left were on the front of the building. The bay was drive-through, and this was the first fire station in the city with one! Click to enlarge:
North Carolina State Archives photo