This mid-19thcentury brick structureon Church Street in Salem, Massachusetts, was built as theCentral Fire Housefor the City. The Salem Fire Engine House was erected in 1861 from plans by an unidentified architect, in an eclectic style focused on function over frills. The faade is dominated by three engine bays with five windows on the second floor, surmounted by a decorative brick cornice. The hidden feature of the fire house is the three-story hose-drying tower capped by a slate mansard roof at the rear of the building. This building remained a fire house for 115 years until 1976, when due to larger fire engines and the tight constraints of the lot and surrounding streets, made use of the building a burden for fire-fighting. The City of Salem sold the building to private owners in 1976 for $24,000, and they underwent renovations to the building from designs by David Jaquith undertaken under the direction of the Salem Redevelopment Authority which sought to promote renovation of select historic buildings within the Downtown Salem Historic District. The recessed entrances throughthe old engine doorsis a nice touch and retains the original fabric of the building. The old Salem Central Fire House is now occupied byCrazy Good Kitchenand theEast Regiment Beer Company.