A Firehouses Revival

By Erik Holm | Staff Writer

ONLY A FEW photographs of Bay Shore's Second Avenue Firehouse still exist, but the one shown here was instrumental in helping local architect Anthony Szekalski restore the 100-year-old building to its former glory.

That glory will be celebrated at a rededication ceremony Sunday, June 11 at 2 p.m. Festivities are to include the ringing of a cast bronze bell dating to the firehouse's beginning.

When Szekalski first started on the project a year and a half ago, the building was a shadow of its former self. The towers were gone and the exterior walls were covered with a simulated brick asphalt shingle.

"Remarkably, the asphalt shingles helped save the detailing that was hidden underneath," Szekalski said.

The bell that called the volunteer firemen from their beds has long vanished, as has the eagle atop the tower, but those involved in the restoration employed an ultramodern technique to find replacements: They went online to locate people selling similar items.

For a century, the former firehouse has reflected the changes that have occurred on Second Avenue. As the hamlet grew, the volunteer fire department had to sell the building around 1916 to a Jewish congregation, which converted it into a synagogue. Later, as the neighborhood deteriorated, it was converted into a rooming house. But now, Second Avenue -- like much of Bay Shore -- is on the rebound, thanks to community activists, and the firehouse will be converted to a gallery space and the home for an artist-in-residence.