Harlem Hilton (FDNY Engine 69, Ladder 28)

FDNY Engine 69, Ladder 28, Battalion 16 is located at 248 West 143rd Street, in a building built in 1917. The firehouse has been called the “Harlem Hilton” since at least 1980.
         
There is no Hilton hotel in Harlem. The Hilton New York is located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, the Hilton Times Square is at 234 West 42nd Street, Hilton Manhattan East is at 304 East 42nd Street, West 57th Street by Hilton Club is at 102 West 57th Street, Hilton New York Fashion District is at 152 West 26th Street, and the Millenium Hilton is at 55 Church Street. The name “Harlem Hilton” was, perhaps, inspired by the Vietnam-era nickname of “Hanoi Hilton,” where American war prisoners were held. (There is now an official Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel.)
     
 
Ciscone Fire Photos
Engine 69 - Ladder 28 - Battalion 16 - “Harlem Hilton” 248 West 143rd Street - Built 1917
 
First Due Photos
FDNY Engine Co. 69—“The Harlem Hilton”
 
Flickr
This photo was taken on May 29, 2008 in Harlem, NY, US, using an Olympus E-410.
E069l FDNY “Harlem Hilton” Ladder 28, New York City
“Harlem Hilton” Fire House at 248 West 143rd Street, Manhattan NYC
 
29 June 1980, New York (NY) Times, “Harlem Firehouse Cries For 2 Who Fell in Duty” by Casey Winfrey, pg. 18:
While most of the city slept in the small hours yesterday, the men and the officers of Engine 69, Ladder 28, Battalion 16 began arriving at “the Harlem Hilton,” as their graffiti-scarred firehouse is colloquially known, drawn by nothing more—or less—than their need to be together at the unit’s darkest hour in nearly 20 years.
 
New York (NY) Times
NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: NEW YORK CAFFEINE; A Fairway Roaster Helps Turn Firehouses Into Coffeehouses
By MICHAEL POLLAK
Published: May 25, 2003
Firefighters drink a lot of coffee. In Harlem, for example, Engine Company 37 and Ladder Company 40 go through five one-gallon pots a day.
(...)
In addition to Life Begins at 40, which Mr. Pascale describes as a ‘‘strong and tasty, rich and full-bodied’’ mix of Colombian, Italian and French roast, the blends include Harlem Zoo for Engine 59 and Ladder 30 (Italian and Colombian with a little hazelnut), Cross-Bronx (three dark roasts: Italian, French and Viennese), Vinegar Hill (for Engine 80 and Ladder 23) and Harlem Hilton (Engine 69, Ladder 28).
 
New York (NY) Daily News
FOR HIM, HEAVEN WAS LADDER 36
BY MICHAEL DALY
Sunday, December 21th 2003, 1:90AM
(...)
He had been in his mid-teens when Carney invited him to stay a night at his firehouse on E. 143rd St., “the Harlem Hilton,” home to Engine 69 and Ladder 28.