Firehouse 12

45 Crown Street

Once an important fire station for city of New Haven, this building has been restored into one of the city’s most modern and popular spaces for music and nightlife. It is a brick, Beaux-Arts classical style building with stone details sitting in New Haven’s Ninth Square. The building originally served as a fire station from 1905-1961, and it was renovated between 2002 and 2005 into its current use as a restaurant, bar, state-of-the-art music recording studio/concert venue, and loft living space. A more recent renovation included the addition of a three bedroom apartment, added to the roof of the building and available for rent on AirBnB. The renovations of this building were part of the city’s attempt to revitalize the Ninth Square.

Researcher

Mary Petzke, February 2018

Date Researched

Entry Created

February 24, 2018 at 3:49 PM EST

Last Updated

March 8, 2018 at 9:27 PM EST by null

Historic Name

Style

Other

Current Use

RestaurantCommercialResidential

Era

1860-1910

Neighborhood

Ninth Square

Tours

Year Built

1905

Architect

Unknown (original), Gray Organschi (2002 Renovations)

Current Tenant

Firehouse 12

Roof Types

Flat

Structural Conditions

Very Good

Street Visibilities

Yes

Threats

None known

External Conditions

Very Good

Dimensions

40'x69'

Street Visibilities

Yes

Owner

Nick Lloyd

Ownernishp Type

Client

New Haven Fire Department (original client)

Historic Uses

Firehouse

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(Firehouse 12 from Crown Street. Mary Petzke, 2018)
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The large main room of the loft apartment on the second floor, with the original structural beams still prominent on the high ceilings (Mary Petzke, 2018).
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View of the recording studio/music venue (Mary Petzke, 2018). The space can fit over 70 chairs, and (though hard to see in this photo), an additional recording room and space for the piano is on the back wall. The wooden panels were specially designed by experts for the best acoustics, with the left wall (lit in red) made of slit wood, bending in all directions to deflect sound waves (source 9).
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View of second story roof, which is on the back of the building (Mary Petzke, 2018).
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View of back of Firehouse 12 (Mary Petzke, 2018). Here, the second story roof can be seen, and above that is the addition of the top floor apartment, sitting on top of the roof.
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View of top floor roof, which faces Crown Street (Mary Petzke, 2018).
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New windows are flanked by the original shutters of the old fire house (Mary Petzke, 2018).
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The master bedroom of the loft apartment, with noticeable arched window frames harkening back to the Beaux-Arts design (Mary Petzke, 2018)
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The entry to the top floor apartment (Mary Petzke, 2018).
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One of the three bedrooms available for rent in this apartment (below) (Mary Petzke, 2018). The cross-laminated timber panels give the space a lighter, more modern touch.
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What was previously an office space for the Firehouse 12 owners is now a sitting room (Mary Petzke, 2018).
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The clear separation of the old brick building and the new cross-laminated timber panels of the new apartment addition (Mary Petzke, 2018).
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Floorplan of 2005 renovation (Courtesy of Gray Organschi). Left to right: Basement cocktail room; entryway, recording studio with space for seating, control room, storage rooms, and kitchenette; sitting room/office space, large loft apartment with two bedrooms, one bathroom.
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Vertical cut of building plan for 2005 renovation (Courtesy of Gray Organschi). Shows basement, first floor music venue and recording studio, and second floor apartment with large skylights.
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Zoomed in image of Sanborn Insurance map from 1886 (source 4). Circled in red is the current location of Firehouse 12. The previous buildings are unknown (likely sheds), labeled as yellow for frame construction.
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Zoomed in image of Sanborn Insurance map from 1901 (source 10). Circled in red is the current location of Firehouse 12. The previous buildings on this lot were sheds, labeled as yellow for frame construction.
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Zoomed in image of Sanborn Insurance map from 1923 (source 11). Circled in red is the current location of Firehouse 12, which at this time was the Fire Dep�t. Eng. Co. No. 12. The building is red for a brick/stone construction.
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Zoomed in image of Sanborn Insurance map from 1973 (source 12). Circled in red is the current location of Firehouse 12, which at this time vacant.
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New Haven Historic Resources Inventory, Addendum to Inventory Forms�Phase I through Phase IV, New Haven Public Library, 1984, 224. (1 of 2)
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New Haven Historic Resources Inventory, Addendum to Inventory Forms�Phase I through Phase IV, New Haven Public Library, 1984, 224. (2 of 2)

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