Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 10/19/1994
NRHP Listing Date 02/08/1995
NRHP Reference Number 95000027
With its demi-octagonal projections, Steamer Company Number 5 is an architectural work ingeniously adapted to an irregular site. It was built in 1883 to continue the fire-fighting and police station functions begun in 1849 in a earlier building on this site in the Jackson Ward neighborhood. The polygonal Italianate structure is the most conspicuous and best-preserved of Richmond’s early firehouses. The building’s configuration and fabric illustrate the transition from horse-drawn to motorized equipment. Its name also suggests a certain archaic quality, referring to the days when steam was required to produce water pressure in vehicles. A fire-fighting tradition of 119 years at this site was ended in 1968 when a new firehouse was built nearby. The building was sold into private ownership in 1976 and has since been developed as the Virginia Fire and Police Museum.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: September 22, 2021
