At the corner of Michigan and 14th in Chicago's South Loop neighborhood, a beloved piece of Chicago history and for the last 25 years, one of the city's premiere restaurants.
"In 1998, the neighborhood was going through gentrification and the city was looking for bids for ideas what could be here," recalled Laura O'Malley, co-owner, Chicago Firehouse Restaurant.
The Former Engine Company 104 of the Chicago Fire Department was built in 1905. O'Malley says when she and her husband purchased the building in 2000, they knew they wanted to preserve the structure's bones and history.
"This is one of seven of the firehouses that are made out of limestone. The building was designed to meld with the mansions on Prairie Avenue. It's a unique firehouse within the city." she said.
The building's exterior shows off its landmark status, designated in 2003, and its original entrance.
"Our entrance doors are beautiful. This was a horse and carriage firehouse so that's why the doors are so large. There's such history here and we made sure we continued to celebrate the building and what it was, a municipal building, and keeping everything we possibly could. It's an honor to be housed in a place like this."
Inside is a spiral staircase, two original fire poles and some of the original Tiffany glazed tile brick. The second floor is the former firefighters’ sleeping quarters and handball courts turned into event space.
"There were about ten handball courts in different firehouses. The fire chief at the time, loved to play handball so there were ten of those installed in many of the firehouses. That was one of the more difficult things to tear apart when we were renovated the building." she laughed.
In 2014, a devastating fire destroyed the roof and much of the inside.
"December 10, 2014 at about 10am in the morning, I remember it well. There was work being done on the roof, and that's how the restaurant caught on fire," she recalled. "It was devastating. The entire roof was gone. There was 70,000 gallons of water in the basement," she shook her head. "It was a devastating day but shortly after, we committed to rebuilding and the community was fantastic, our neighbors were supportive. It was a long process but we did it."
Two years later, a triumphant grand re opening.
O'Malley says while the original restaurant had to be redesigned, a few things survived.
"The only things that survived were our staircases, the glazed brick in the bar room. We had to replace the tin ceiling. Everything else had to be re done, all the windows, the electricity, the plumbing but we were able to reimagine the restaurant a bit. We were able to re open in February, 2017. We knew we'd re open." she smiled.
Over the years, the restaurant has become known for its Friday happy hour, as a community gathering place and for special events.
"We had a birthday celebration in our wine cellar room, Mayor(Richard M) Daley and President George Bush celebrated his birthday here which was great fun. We get a lot of notoriety for that. We've had Presidents, dignitaries and celebrities here over the years."
A dining room at the steakhouse has been named after Daley.
O'Malley says the key to surviving a fire and a pandemic: a strong community and the thriving South Loop neighborhood. She says the restaurant is a living narrative of its history and its future for the next 25 years.
"We've been through a lot. We literally rose from the ashes 11 years ago. When we bought this, did I think we'd be here in 25 years? I did. The name of our company is "Mainstay Management" because we want to be a 'mainstay' in the neighborhood. We celebrate the history, that's what we live for. People start here as our customers, they become our regulars and then they become our friends and then part of our family. You come to Chicago you have to come to the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant."