Henry Street Settlement

Culminating nearly two decades of campaigning, an historic firehouse on Manhattan’s Lower East Side now serves the community again through the Henry Street Settlement’s wide variety of social services, arts and healthcare programs. The three-story building was built in 1883, yet had been vacant since the New York City Fire Department’s Engine Company No. 15 relocated after 9/11. For years, the Henry Street Settlement – whose own historic headquarters is adjacent to the building – worked to ensure that it would be preserved for community use, and ultimately acquired the decommissioned firehouse from the City in 2017.

Donors to the organization’s “Opening Doors” capital campaign provided the critical funding that enabled the purchase and renovation of the neighborhood center and are recognized in a lobby installation designed by Altitude. Acrylic “bricks” are aligned with the building’s original 19th century brickwork and display the names of individual donors. The installation’s color palette is inspired by vintage fire trucks and gear, and enables various types of donors and/or levels of donations to be recognized.