Fire Station No. 1 is a former
fire station
__NOTOC__
A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...
listed on 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 the
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
neighborhood of the
independent city
An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province).
Historical precursors
In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
of
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...
, United States. Modeled after
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
's
Independence Hall
Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Fa ...
,
Fire Station No. 1 served as one of the longest continuously operating fire stations in the
Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United Stat ...
from its completion in 1907 through the opening of a replacement facility in 2007.
Designed by the
Lynchburg firm of Huggins and Bates, No. 1 still stands as a monument to the civic pride of early Roanoke.
It is located in the
Roanoke City Market Historic District
Roanoke City Market Historic District, also known as City Market District, is a national historic district located in the Downtown Roanoke area of Roanoke, Virginia.
The district's history dates to 1882, when the Norfok and Western Railway (N ...
.
History
With a purely
volunteer force
The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...
in place within the city beginning in 1882, the first paid firefighters were hired in 1906,
and ground was officially broken for No. 1 on February 19, 1906.
Completed by 1907, the station exhibits the
Georgian Revival
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...
style of an Edwardian-era firehouse.
It features a
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
ashlar foundation and a solid
brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
facade with
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
accents, topped with a bell tower that provided views of the entire city upon its completion.
By 1911 the city purchased their first engine powered fire truck stationed at No. 1. By 1918, horse-drawn fire wagons were totally phased out in favor of the engine-powered ones.
Originally cast in 1886, the bell originally placed atop the structure in the bell tower was removed in 2001, restored and is now on display on the first floor of the station.
By 2003, the aging facility received a facelift to repair and restore the original limestone mortar on the facade. Additionally, the former bell tower was completely restored and the station was completely operational again by December.
Although officials stated that No. 1 would retain its status as a fully staffed fire station even with the completion of a replacement facility, the station stopped running fire and
EMS calls on May 9, 2007.
Today the facility houses a local furniture showroom, restaurant, and boutique hotel.
[Petska, Alicia. "Fire Station No. 1 has new calling Fire Station No. 1, downtown Roanoke historic landmark, has new calling." ''Roanoke Times, The (VA)'', September 24, 2022: 1A. ''NewsBank: America's News''. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/18CC03DF21A32CF0 .]
References
External links
Historic Fire-EMS Station #1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fire Station No. 01, Roanoke, Virginia
Fire stations completed in 1907
Fire stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Defunct fire stations in Virginia
Buildings and structures in Roanoke, Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Roanoke, Virginia
Georgian Revival architecture in Virginia
Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia