Northwest Corner of Assembly and Taylor Streets
Site of Phoenix Hook and Ladder Company
Columbia's earliest fire protection came from volunteer companies whose engine houses were the venue for monthly meetings and social gatherings. The Phoenix Hook and Ladder Company, initially known as the Ax, Ladder, and Hook Company, maintained a facility overlooking Sidney Park. During the antebellum period, both free and enslaved blacks could serve within the ranks of the engine companies but were barred from working with the Ax, Ladder, and Hook Company. From the 1890s until 1905, Jewish residents held religious services on the second floor.
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Phoenix Fire Company, circa 1904. Image courtesy South Carolina State Museum
