Firehouse, Engine Company 261 and Ladder Company 116

The brick exterior of this firehouse hides a design choice rooted in the industrial history of Long Island City. Architect Bradford Gilbert completed this building in the late nineteenth century with a reinforced floor system specifically engineered to support the immense weight of horse drawn fire apparatus. He utilized heavy timber and iron beams to prevent the floor from collapsing under the vibration and pressure of heavy steam engines and teams of horses launching into action.