Livingston's Engine House

Article written June 2026.

← Engine House No. 14 & Station 14 | Engine House No. 15 [demolished] & Station 15 | Engine House No. 16 →

Engine House No. 15 was an example of Columbus’s unique “engine house” fire station designs. It had a design common to those being built on the expanding east and west sides in the late 19th century. Like several of its predecessors, it fell victim to the wrecking ball and was replaced by an inferior Modernist design.

Engine House No. 15 was located at 650 East Livingston Avenue in the Livingston Park neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. (The block has since been obliterated by the massive Nationwide Children’s Hospital.) At the time of its completion, it was bordered by a Columbus Railway, Power, & Light Co. electric substation and Will Alley to the north, Livingston Avenue to the south, a stone garage to the east, and Nicholas Street to the west.

Station 15 is located at 1800 East Livingston Avenue in the Driving Park neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by houses on Bide-a-Wee Park to the north, Livingston Avenue to the south, a fast-food restaurant to the east, and apartments to the west.

History

Snippet of the 1921-1922 Sanborn map showing the station and its context. (Library of Congress)

At the time that Engine House No. 15 was built, Livingston Avenue was being rapidly developed. The 1901 Sanborn map shows sparse houses and apartments on that area of the street. However, by 1921, the street was lined with houses. Engine House No. 15, along with those like it, were built to serve the rapidly growing east and west sides of Columbus.

Historic photo of the station. (Wikimedia)

Engine House No. 15 was built in 1907. It was designed in the Romanesque Revival style, a ubiquitous choice for Columbus’s Victorian fire stations. Features such as the tall tower with a vaulted belfry, masonry construction, and its massive cornice added a sense of visual weight to the building. (This is pretty much all my own extrapolation--there’s nothing about this one online.) It is also largely identical to Engine House No. 16 downtown, which still stands and has been restored to its original appearance.

The station closed in 1969, and it was presumably demolished soon afterwards. The site has since been taken over by Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

A photo of Station 15. (City of Columbus website)

Station 15, Engine House No. 15’s replacement, opened in 1969. It is a banal Modern design, though it could fit larger fire engines and had more modern amenities. I was out in Driving Park and snapped a few hasty pics of the Livingston Theater while I was there. I can’t remember why I passed this one up, it may have been difficult to park or I didn’t care to take pictures of such a boring building.

Sources:

https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn06656_005/

https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn06656_007 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_stations_in_Columbus,_Ohio

https://www.columbus.gov/Services/Public-Safety/Fire/Find-a-Fire-Station/Station-15