The Firehouse Restaurant, on the North East Corner of Main and Rose, occupies a former Venice fire house at this location whose exterior is little changed from its 1906 construction.
In 1904 unincorporated Los Angeles County south of Santa Monica votes to form the City of Ocean Park. The new city has to quickly acquire the services required of a city - police, fire, sewers, etc. In January 1905 a bond issue for $5,000 for fire equipment gets the fire department started. In October 1906 a bond issue for $10,000 provides funds for a proper fire house and fire fighting equipment. The Board of Trustees appoints W.G. Lang (1855 – 1942) fire chief.
Built on the corner of Rose and Min in 1906 for $6,000, the firehouse is a 2-story wooden structure with a bell tower and a stable for the horses that pull the fire wagons. The property is also the city street yards, and the horses are primarily used for street cleaning and garbage collection. City employees care for the horses, and ring the bell to summon the volunteer firemen when a fire breaks out. There are no paid fire employees - all volunteers.
The early years of the City of Ocean Park are turbulent - there are police and fire scandals, and the Board of Trustees fights with Kinney.
In 1911, the first motorized engine, a two-cylinder Buick, is acquired. A second fire station is opened at 17th Avenue & Speedway. In 1912, this new station becomes Venice Fire Station No. 1, and the Rose Avenue station is relegated to Venice Fire Station No. 2.
By 1916 the Venice Fire Department consisted of three firemen, a ladder truck, and an American-La France fire engine that holds 350 gallons of water.
When Venice is annexed into the City of Los Angeles in 1925, the Rose Avenue fire station becomes LAFD Fire Engine House No. 62. The City of Los Angeles replaces the old fire engines with three “modern” ones: a 1918 hose-wagon, a 1923 1,000 gallon capacity American-La France engine, and a 1920 Seagreave relief pump and hose carrier. These three machines are used until 1950, when Engine Co. No. 62 moves into its new Mar Vista Fire Station 62 (3631 Centinela Ave).
In 1950, the Rose Avenue fire house is vacant and boarded up. In 1954 the City-owned Rose Ave property is sold at auction. In the years that follow, the building houses several different entities including an antique store, an art studio, and a lingerie shop.
In 1986, Naresh Mehta and Leiko Hamada transform the building into the Firehouse Restaurant. With its hearty breakfasts, the restaurant initially caters to bodybuilders who work out nearby, but it soon becomes popular with locals and tourists.
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