#ascpca

West 100th Street Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10025

The Firemen’s Memorial was originally intended for the north end of Union Square, but is now located at 100th Street and Riverside Drive. The memorial itself is a 19 foot long by 8 foot wide sarcophagus erected on a granite plaza, with a fountain and a bronze bas-relief tablet portraying three galloping horses pulling a fire engine on the side facing the park. Symbolic marble sculptures representing the firefighter’s motto, Duty and Sacrifice, flank the sarcophagus; Sacrifice on the north end, Duty on the south. The figure of Duty is a mother seated next to a fire hydrant, holding a fire helmet and raincoat across her lap as she shelters her young son standing next to her. Sacrifice portrays a partially draped woman supporting the limp body of her husband, a fireman killed in the line of duty. Benches, a broad staircase, and a terrace overlooking Riverside Drive complete the design. Underneath the foundation of the monument is a small copper box containing letters from the architect as well as the badge and firebox key of Fire Chief Edward Croker,who saw Deputy Fire Chief Kruger fall into a blazing cellar in a Canal Street fire in 1908, the incident which inspired the monument. The memorial was completed in 1912. In 1927, the ASPCA added a second tablet to the sarcophagus in memory of fallen fire-horses.

The monument was designed by architect Harold Van Buren Magonigle and its sculptures are by Attilio Piccirilli.