Here! A post to celebrate a building near where I work. It has shiny red bricks.

It’s the Chicago Fire Academy!

Chicago Fire Academy‎
558 W De Koven St
Chicago, IL‎

I like shiny things.

I was just going to post some pictures, but felt like I should at least lazily look up one or two facts.

It turns out that the Chicago Fire Academy is built on the site of Catherine O’Leary’s barn, the alleged source of the Great Chicago Fire.

Whooaaaaa! That’s a pretty cool fact. The Chicago Fire Academy is where new recruits learn their trade (what part of Chicago Fire Academy do you not understand?).

Wow, I hit a homerun with that O’Leary fact. I don’t need to give you folks any more.

Here’s some pictures of shiny bricks!

Look at this beautiful building! Picture taken at the intersection of Jefferson and Taylor

This was taken from further south on Jefferson (near De Koven), looking north. I love the statue of flames. I can’t think of any other profession where a statue like this would make sense (a reverence for something you are dedicated to control or eradicate). Thankfully, I have yet to see a huge tumor statue outside a hospital.

Delicious, delicious, shiny red bricks!

You don’t believe that they’re shiny? Take a closer look!

The fire department uses this part of the building for exercises. I often witness recruits running up and down the stairs. Occasionally, I see portions of the building set on fire. They recently added a series of stackable shipping containers in back of the building, which are probably being used as additional training grounds.

Look forward to a future shiny post, dedicated to the delicious, shiny white bricks of the west side bar, the Skylark Lounge!