From Phil Stenholm:
Another installment about the History of the Evanston Fire Department
Best Laid Plans
After the second bond issue passed in April 1953, Chief Dorband's modernization plan moved forward, paving the way for three new fire stations to be built at a total cost of $775,000 during 1954-55. In its last inspection back in 1935, the National Board of Fire Underwriters (NBFU) had recommended relocating Truck Company 2 from Station #1 to a new Station #2 in South Evanston, establishing a third truck company in a new Station #3 in North Evanston, and moving Engine Company 5 from Station #1 to a proposed fifth fire station near Grant and Central Park in northwest Evanston. Chief Dorband followed these recommendations closely when planning the new stations.
Station #2 was constructed as a two-story, three-bay "headquarters" station with space for a tractor-drawn aerial ladder truck and administrative offices for the EFD. It was built on the southwest corner of Madison and Custer, just west of the old Station #2. The previous Station #2 at 750 Chicago Avenue was sold to a private buyer and later turned into an automobile dealership before becoming a restaurant around twenty years later.
Station #3, a one-story, three-bay structure with one bay designed for future use with an aerial ladder truck, was erected on a vacant lot owned by the Metropolitan Sanitary District but leased to the City of Evanston. Located on the east side of the North Shore Channel, it stood a block west of Evanston Hospital and a mile from the Northwestern University campus. Its location was at the northeast corner of Central Street and what had been Cooper Avenue before the canal was built in 1908, roughly a mile east of the old Station #3. The previous Station #3 at 2504 Green Bay Road was sold and converted into a photography studio.
But building Fire Station #5 proved to be far more challenging.
Chief Dorband's plan envisioned Station #5 being built on what was once Bennett Avenue, between Perkins Woods and Lincolnwood Elementary School. The section of Bennett Avenue running between Grant and Colfax streets had been shut down in the 1920s when Perkins Woods became part of the Cook County Forest Preserve, but the city still owned the right-of-way. The station's primary response area would cover all of northwest Evanston, along with a significant portion of the 5th Ward, including everything north of Church Street and west of the C&NW RR Mayfair Division freight tracks.
Designed as a long, narrow, one-story, one-bay residential-style firehouse set back several hundred feet from the street, the single apparatus bay would be positioned on the south side of the building, with access from Grant Street. Inside, there would be a living room, kitchen, dining room, bunk room, bathroom with a shower, captain's office, large storage room, and a watch desk equipped with a radio and phone, divided by a long hallway. The parking area and main entrance would face Colfax Street. The station was to have the street address of 2700 Colfax Street.
However, the Lincolnwood School Parent Teacher Association (PTA) strongly opposed the proposed site, claiming that having a fire station so close to the school posed a risk to children if the fire engine responded while kids were arriving or leaving school. The city council agreed, despite Chief Dorband's frustration, who pointed out that they had readily approved constructing the new Fire Station #1 on Lake Street in 1949, even though it was only a half-block away from St. Mary's School.
With the Perkins Woods site no longer an option, Chief Dorband suggested a city-owned playground-park at the northeast corner of Simpson and Bennett (now known as Porter Park). This location was not only owned by the city but also closer to the 5th Ward than the original Grant and Bennett proposal. However, residents in the area protested the idea of replacing their park with a fire station. Additionally, 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 council then considered a vacant lot at the northwest corner of Central Park Avenue and the south alley of Central Street. The lot was for sale at a reasonable price and had enough space for a two-story, one-bay firehouse similar to those in the Chicago Fire Department. But leaders from Northminster Presbyterian Church voiced objections, saying a fire station on their block could disrupt Sunday morning services, Wednesday evening prayer meetings, and choir rehearsals.
Finally, with voter approval to build a new station in northwest Evanston and sufficient funds available, but seemingly nowhere suitable to place it, the city council reluctantly purchased a lot costing $25,000 in a commercial district on the south side of Central Street at Reese Avenue. Although this site cost more than the aldermen initially wanted to spend, its larger footprint allowed for a two-bay firehouse. While the Central Street location was half a mile farther from the 5th Ward than the Perkins Woods site would have been, it was strategically placed to provide better fire coverage across northwest Evanston, extending as far as Crawford and Old Glenview Road.
This story highlights the challenges faced in balancing community needs with practical requirements—a common theme in urban planning and public service development.
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