Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn

The Old Brooklyn Firehouse was designed in 1892 by Frank Freedman. The red brick Romanesque-style building served as Brooklyn’s fire headquarters until 1972. Its seven story tower – then the tallest structure around – enabled fire watchers to detect blazes around the borough. If billows of smoke were spotted, horse-drawn fire wagons were dispatched from the firehouse located at 365-367 Jay Street between Myrtle Avenue and Willoughby Street. In 1972, it was included in the National Register of Historic Places.

Later that same year, the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn developed interest in purchasing and renovating the Jay Street Firehouse. After years of negotiation and planning, Poly entered long-term lease with the City of New York to develop a fire research center at the site in June 1976.

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