The Muskegon Central Fire Station is a building originally constructed to house a fire station, located at 75 W. Walton Avenue in Muskegon, Michigan. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1999. The building has been renovated into office space, and is known as the Firehouse Professional Building.

History

Before the construction of this building, Muskegon's main fire station was located in the City Hall on Jefferson Street for nearly 50 years. In 1929, Muskegon commissioned architect Leo J. Heenan of

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

to design this building, with the assistance of the local firm of VanderWest and Child. The station was constructed in 1929-30, and opened on October 9, 1930. The fire station was in use from when it opened until 2007, when the city constructed a replacement building. The city sold the building in 2012 to a developer, who renovated the building into office space.

Description

The Muskegon Central Fire Station is a two-story

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

building containing 28,000 square feet of space. It is constructed of blonde colored brick and Indiana limestone, and features five large entrance bays, each 11 feet wide, intended for fire trucks. The bays are separated by brick piers with limestone capitals. Decorative limestone panels are located above each entrance, depicting various fire-fighting symbols. The building has a flat roof, penetrated by a hose tower and chimney. On the interior, the walls are finished with enameled brick and the floors with

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bindi ...

. Oak wainscoting is located in some rooms and hallways. When it opened as a fire station, the building was touted as an innovative advance in fire-fighting, with an emphasis on easy access in the interior and flow-through mobility.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Muskegon, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Muskegon County, Michigan Art Deco architecture in Michigan 1930 establishments in Michigan