National Register visits 207-208: Fire Stations of downtown LA
Station No. 23 📍225 East 5th Street
Station No. 28 📍644 South Figueroa Street
Happy International Firefighters Day. Today we’re visiting two former fire stations in downtown LA that have similar contours to their histories, but have ended up in very different places.
Station No. 23 was built in 1910 in the neighborhood now known as Skid Row. Originally it housed LA Fire Department headquarters and its Chief Engineer, in addition to a company of firemen. It was eyebrow-raisingly fancy for a fire station - Hudson & Munsell lined it with Italian marble and leatherette walls, oak floors and TWO elevators. No. 23 closed in 1960, and slowly deteriorated over the next 20 years. In 1996, LA voters passed Proposition K, which earmarked a little over $2 million to turn it into a youth arts center. Of course, it wasn’t until late 2023 that the rehab work got started, but in the meantime the station built a hell of a film legacy. It was used as a filming location for Big Trouble in Little China, David Lynch’s Lost Highway, and three Ghostbusters films, among maaaany others.
Station No. 28 opened in 1913. At the time horse-drawn fire trucks were being phased out, and the companies housed here got to test out some of the newfangled motorized fire engines and hose/pump apparatus. This one shut down in the ‘60s too, and LA’s Community Redevelopment Agency considered merging its second floor into a system of airborne walkways. That never happened, and neither did a proposed demolition. Instead, old No. 28 became…a high-end restaurant, wherein one can eat elevated American fare surrounded by firefighting memorabilia. This is probably the best thing that could have happened. There’s an original fire pole still there, original brick flooring. And the food’s good too!
Historic photos:
📷 1-3: LAFire.com
📷 4: California State Library
📷 5-6: LAFire.com
I’m visiting all the LA landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places. Read about the ones and many more at Etandoesla.com: etandoesla.com...
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