THE Frank Kowalinski Post on 61-57 Maspeth Avenue is where the local chapter of Polish Legion of American Veterans (open to vets of all nationalities) gather and conduct business. But this structure was once one of Maspeth’s first firehouses. In the 19th century, belonging to a volunteer fire company was a great distinction, whether a man belonged to an engine Company or a ladder company. Only the prominent men of the village were asked to join and only the most respected of these men could hope to become foreman. Engine Company No. 4 was housed first in a frame building on Grand Avenue which stood near 64th Street.
According to the wikipedia AI robot:
Frank Kowalinski was a Polish-American soldier killed in World War I, recognized as the first U.S. Army soldier of Polish descent to die in combat, and is honored in Maspeth, Queens, where a street (Kowalinski Way) and the Frank Kowalinski Post 4 of the Polish Legion of American Veterans (PLAV) are named in his memory, serving as a local hero and community hub.
About 1895, No. 4 moved here. Ladder Company No.5 was located in a frame building on Perry Avenue which is currently crossed by the Long Island Expressway. When a fire occurred in Maspeth, the fire siren on top of the Alden Sampson Oil Cloth Factory would scream out its summons and fire fighters would race to the firehouses to receive their direction. When a sufficient number of men had reported to the fire house, the fire company proceeded to the fire. Engine Companies 4&5 were abandoned when the modern firehouse of Maspeth was built by the City in 1915 at 68th Street and Borden Avenue.
Between its stint as a firehouse and the PLAV center, 61-57 was the headquarters of the Atateka Democratic Club. The name is a bowdlerization of a Mohawk word (Kanienʼkéha) meaning “brotherhood, sisterhood, and equality.” Note the star at the roofline. The symbol of the Democratic Party, a 5-pointed star, has been used by the Democratic National Committee since 1852, and still turns up as a symbol on paper ballots.
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12/18/25
1 comment
I grew up in Maspeth and never knew this. Extremely interesting, as usual. Thank you.