Saco Central Fire Station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Saco Central Fire Station
|
|
 |
|
 Location in Maine
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | 14 Thornton Ave., Saco, Maine |
|---|---|
| Area | less than one acre |
| Architect | Miller & Beal, Inc. |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival; Art Deco |
| NRHP reference No. | 13000168 |
| Added to NRHP | April 16, 2013 |
The Former Saco Central Fire Station is a cool old building in Saco, Maine. It was built in 1939. This fire station was special because it was the first modern one in Saco. It was made for fire trucks, not horse-drawn wagons! It also had the newest technology for firefighters.
This building is so important that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. This is a list of places in the United States that are worth saving. Firefighters used it until 2011. Now, it has apartments and businesses inside.
Contents
About the Saco Fire Station Building
The old Saco Central Fire Station is located between Thornton Avenue and Pleasant Streets. It is just north of Saco's main downtown area. The building has two stories. It is made of strong steel and masonry. The outside is covered in brick and a special type of stone called cast stone.
Building Features and Design
The fire station has a flat roof. There is a tall tower at one corner. This tower was used to hang and dry long fire hoses. A part of the building in the back is only one story tall. This is because the ground slopes downwards there.
The front of the building faces Thornton Avenue. It has five wide sections, called bays. The ground floor used to have large openings for fire trucks. Above these, there are pairs of windows. Brick columns separate these sections. Some columns have decorative blocks called quoins.
The openings for the fire trucks had rounded tops. They were made with alternating bricks and cast stone. However, the opening on the far right was made square. This was to fit taller fire trucks. The middle section now has a window that sticks out. Above the second floor, there is a decorative band of cast stone. Above that, the words "Saco Fire Station" are written in brick. The letters are in a cool, modern style called Art Deco.
History of the Saco Fire Station
The city of Saco has used this spot for fire services for a long time. They started using it as early as the 1870s. Around 1930, Saco's fire department started using only motorized vehicles. This meant they had fire trucks instead of horse-drawn wagons.
Building the New Firehouse
The old fire station, built in the 1870s, was getting old and falling apart. So, the city got money from the Public Works Administration. This was a government program that helped build things during the Great Depression. The new building was designed in 1938 by an architect named Lester I. Beal. He was from Portland, Maine.
The new station was built behind the older one. Some houses on Pleasant Street were taken down to make space. The old station stayed in use while the new one was being built. Once the new station was ready, the old one was torn down.
From Fire Station to New Uses
The Saco Central Fire Station was used by firefighters until 2011. That year, the fire department moved to a brand new building. The city wanted to sell the old station to a company that would develop it. But that plan did not work out.
Instead, the city decided to fix up the building themselves. They turned it into a place with both homes and businesses. This means people now live there, and some businesses operate from the building.
