This firehouse opened in March, 1872 and Walter E. Hawes Engine Company 15, which had been organized on December 22, 1869 at the quarters of Hancock Hook & Ladder Company 5 at 456 West Fourth Street, South Boston, moved in.
On June 2, 1868 names and numbers for all fire companies had been authorized. Names and numbers continued until 1873 when all fire companies converted to numbers only, as they remain today.
The firehouse was located at 109 Dorchester Avenue, on a small triangle lot facing directly into the intersection of West Broadway and Dorchester Avenue in South Boston.
To read an 1872 newspaper story on the (new) Engine 15 firehouse, please see the following Link: Story
Engine 15 stayed here, except for a brief period of time in 1917 for renovations, until the company was disbanded on July 13, 1954. The firehouse was closed on that day, and was later demolished.
The site today is covered by part of the new Broadway Bridge linking South Boston and the South End.
