A 139-year-old firehouse on Chicago's Near North Side has a new life as a design showroom. The building at 228 W. Illinois St., once home to Engine Company 42 of the Chicago Fire Department, now houses 1887 House, a four-story, 10,000-square-foot design destination built by Italian-born designer Luca Lanzetta.
According to Modern Luxury, Lanzetta first saw the former firehouse back in 2010 but didn't buy the property until 2022, taking it on as-is. That same year, he left his longtime home at The Mart, and the building then underwent a two-and-a-half-year renovation before 1887 House debuted in August.
The firehouse itself dates to 1887, a detail confirmed by Chicago's official landmark records, which note it was constructed to house Engine Company 42 during a period of rapid expansion for the Chicago Fire Department. The building was designated a Chicago landmark in 2007, according to Glessner House, which also holds a photograph of the firehouse taken shortly after its completion in 1887.
A Landmark Shell, A Modern Interior
Under Chicago's landmark status, 1887 House retains its original exterior, per the Modern Luxury report. Inside, though, the designer has built out what the outlet describes as a modern interior with a black-and-white canvas. A slatted ground-floor ceiling conceals lighting and mechanical systems throughout the space.
The building's most dramatic feature, per the report, is a minimal black steel staircase prefabricated in Italy and lowered into the firehouse through its open roof by crane. The staircase links every level of 1887 House, tying the four stories together into a single continuous design statement.
The renovation leans heavily on Italian design brands. The outlet's report describes Ernestomeda kitchens with a custom bronze-and-travertine design, Rimadesio wall paneling and doors, Antoniolupi bathrooms, and Viabizzuno lighting throughout the building. Functional kitchens are installed on the first and third floors, alongside working bathrooms, making the space livable as well as showable.
Materials Library and Future Plans
The top floor holds a materials library, with Lanzetta's own design studio positioned beside it, the article reports. His architects and project managers work as a team across the broader group's showrooms, according to the same account.
Per the report, 1887 House will also include a chandelier spanning all four floors, along with an alfresco side yard designed to double as a fashion runway. A rooftop aperitivo area is said to be due next spring, according to the article's reporting.
Lanzetta envisions the space hosting chef demonstrations and invitation-only dinners intended for architects, developers, clients and media, the outlet notes. He arrived in Chicago in 1998 and now splits his time between River North and Santa Monica, but described 1887 House as the first space he can call entirely his own.
A Tribute to the City
Lanzetta told the outlet that Chicago has a special place in his heart, and said that bringing the landmark back to life is a tribute to the city. The project, written up by J.P. Anderson for Modern Luxury's interiors news section, frames the firehouse's transformation as a personal milestone for the designer as much as a design showcase.
For a building that spent over a century as a working firehouse before earning landmark protection in 2007, the shift to a design destination marks one of the more unusual second acts among River North's historic structures.
