Cowtown Yoostabes, 3-Alarm Edition: Fire Halls

These buildings yoostabe fire halls.

fire station no 1Fire hall no. 1 on Commerce Street was built in 1907 to serve the First Ward. It was designed by Sanguinet and Staats. The building for years housed a museum but now houses a cafe.

city hall 8-18-07The 1907 fire hall replaced an 1877 fire hall on that site that also housed Fort Worth’s first city hall and a small city jail. Among those who served in that 1877 building were Peter Smith, Jim Courtright, and disgraced Mayor William S. Pendleton.

fire rusk 12-2-07 teleFire hall no. 1 opened on December 2, 1907. (The fire hall was located in the First Ward, not the Second.) Clip is from the December 2 Telegram.

fire bryan 1911After the South Side fire of 1909, Fort Worth built several neighborhood fire halls. No. 5 (1911) on Bryan Avenue is just four blocks east of where the fire began. This station replaced an earlier station. The building now houses BlackEyed Distilling Company.

fire men at bryan utalThe motorized men of fire hall no. 5. (Photo from University of Texas at Arlington Libraries.)

fire lipscomb 1910Sanguinet and Staats provided the city with a design that was used for three fire halls, two of which survive. At 2804 Lipscomb Street is fire hall no. 10 (1910). Today the building houses an adult education center of the Fort Worth school district.

fire lipscomb10 1910 UTALNo. 10 when it was new and horse power still reined supreme. (Photo from University of Texas at Arlington Libraries.)

fire prospectNo. 10’s twin is no. 12 on Prospect Avenue (1910). In recent years the building housed Station 12 Child Development Center.

fire prospect 1910 UTALNo. 12 when it was new. Note the unpaved street. (Photo from University of Texas at Arlington Libraries.)

fire 1625 e hattie 13 UTALThe third sibling was no. 13 on East Hattie Street. (Photo from University of Texas at Arlington Libraries.)

fire poly city hallThe Polytechnic city hall and fire hall (1914) on Vaughn Boulevard became Fort Worth’s fire hall no. 14 after annexation of Poly in 1922. Building now belongs to TWU.

fire avenue iNearby on Avenue I, the new no. 14 (1938). Now houses YWCA Polytechnic Child Development Center.

fire meadowbrookOn Meadowbrook Drive, no. 20 (1928), designed by Wiley Clarkson. Now houses Firehouse Pottery & Gallery.

fire new yorkOn New York Avenue, no. 7 (1930). Now houses Fellowship Corner.

fire wichita station 4On Wichita Street, no. 4 (1955). Now a private residence.

fire belmontIn the 1920s Fort Worth built several neighborhood fire halls that looked like bungalows and blended with their residential surroundings. On Belmont Avenue, this is fire hall no. 15 (1922). This fire hall and the five that follow were designed by Charles F. Allen.

fire station 8 community center 1923 1601 lipscombBuilt in 1923, fire station no. 8 at 1601 Lipscomb Street in Fairmount is a community center.

fire fultonOn Fulton Street is no. 6 (1923).

fire park place stationOn Park Place Avenue is no. 16 (1922). Now houses the Art Station.

fire ryan 17 1923On Ryan Avenue is no. 17 (1923). The much-modified building in later years housed an electric company. Note the WAlnut exchange on the sign.

fire carletonNo yoostabe here: The bungalow fire hall on Carleton Street in Arlington Heights is still on duty. No. 18 was built in 1923.

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6 Responses to Cowtown Yoostabes, 3-Alarm Edition: Fire Halls

  1. Interesting article! Love seeing the old fire halls and photos having been a volunteer firefighter for many years (when I was younger!) The Number 20 fire hall, as far as I can tell, was the only fire hall (fire house) that my grandfather designed. Very appropriate that it has an art studio in it. I would have loved to have this fire hall as my photographic studio in the 70’s! The number 18 Carlton Street station was our neighborhood fire hall for my family home on Hillcrest. Driving past this fire hall (and an occasional visit) was an everyday part of life when growing up.

    • hometown says:

      Wiley, I started to blame my resources for letting me down, but I just flat overlooked the fact that no. 20 is a Clarkson. I have added that detail to the post. Thanks.

  2. SallyCampbell & Ike Renfield says:

    Thanks, for this topic! We live near Meadowbrook, used to live across the street from Gauntt Electric and enjoy the view of the Park Place building when we eat at Chadra Mezza.

    But we have a few thoughts tickling our brains now. Isn’t there a 2 storey bungalow-style station on Camp Bowie that is now a business, another on the east-west road down to the zoo that’s a residence, and a No. 5, 10, and 12 clone that’s now a wedding/quinceñera shop on N. Main?

    • hometown says:

      Sally and Ike, the closest match I can think of on North Main is now La Playa Maya restaurant here: https://hometownbyhandlebar.com/?p=4220. It was municipal, but if it was a fire hall I have not come across that. I came across no bungalow station in the Camp Bowie area other than the Carleton station. And the closest one to the zoo that I know of is now Art Station on Park Place. If you come across any details on stations I have left out, please let me know. I’d like to add them to the post. Thanks, Mike

  3. Don Peacock says:

    Mike, you have really done a great job on these old fire stations, and they certainly bring back some memories of those days from when my career started on the Fire Dept. on May 1, 1955. Thanks for the history you have presented.

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