National Register Listing

Houston Fire Station No. 7

a.k.a. Houston Fire Museum

2304 Milam St., Houston, TX

Houston Fire Station No. 7 is historically important because of its long association with the Houston Fire Department and the role its firefighters have played in the preservation of Houston's South End. The building had never been used for anything other than a fire station until it became the Houston Fire Museum, in 1981. As such, it remained in service until 1968. 01le J. Lorehn, one of Houston's most well-known, turn-of-the-century architects, designed the building in 1898. He was commissioned for several similar stations, as well as the old Central Fire Station downtown. Of these, Fire Station No. 7 is the only one that remains standing and is perhaps the best preserved of the few extant examples of Lorehn's work. The architectural style of the present fire station is the architect's own interpretation of Romanesque Revival as it was employed during the Victorian period. The building is a fine example of the many turn-of-the-century firehouses built in Houston; because of its restoration and use for public tours, it is an important educational resource in the community.

A brief history of the Houston Fire Department is as follows. Protection Company No. 1 was organized in 1838 as a volunteer group pledged to help control the menacing fire that would surely become in the developing town of Houston. Bucket brigades were the order of the day until 1847 when the first force pumps were mounted on wagons. How- ever, dependence on cistern water continued in Houston until 1879, when the waterworks system was completed. The "fire department" was manned entirely by volunteers until 1885, when the city voted to pay six firemen $100 per year for their services. After a $500,000 fire in 1894, at St. Joseph's Hospital, a fully paid and professional department was created. Soon afterward, the building of city-owned firehouses began throughout Houston. In 1898, the year construction commenced on No. 7, a Gamewell Fire Alarm System was installed in the city.

On February 14, 1898, the property described as lot 6, block 1, of the Hadley Home Reserve Addition, was purchased by the City of Houston from the estate of S. B. Moore. The $ 3,821 bid by Cahill and Hunter was accepted by the Board of Public Works, although nothing is known about these contractors except that James Cahill was a brick mason.

Olle J. Lorehn (c. 1864-1939) received the commission to design the fire station. Having come to Houston from St. Louis in 1893 to supervise the construction of the American Brewing Company complex, Lorehn was eventually awarded several contracts to design other firehouses, including the important Central Fire Station (1903). No. 7 is the only one of these to remain standing. In 1895, he designed the first tall office structure in Houston, the Binz Building (demolished in 1950), which secured his reputation as a capable and imaginative architect. As Lorehn's prominence grew, he received many private, as well as city, contracts. In 1899, the year Fire Station No. 7 was completed, he also designed several residences for prominent Houstonians such as Powell S. Bonner (1203 McGowan), John B. Busch (near the corner of Sampson and Runnells), Mrs. J.C. White (at Rosalie and Elgin), and Henry F. Fisher (1617 Rusk). These houses, as well as Lorehn's best residential commission (the Abraham M. Levy House at 2016 Main), have all been demolished. Extant examples of his work include the present firehouse, Sacred Heart Catholic Church (1911-12), and the W.T. Carter, Jr., House (designed with Birdsall P. Briscoe in 1912).

Fire Station No. 7 was opened for service on January 18, 1899. At that time Allie Anderson became captain of the station. From Louisiana, 24-year-old Anderson had the distinction of being the youngest captain of the Houston Fire Department. In 1899 his crew was made up of two drivers, three pipemen, and an engineer. One of the drivers, D.C. King, later became captain of No. 7. Unlike the case in some of the older stations, in older sections of the city, the men of No. 7 were not previously organized as a volunteer force. Equipment used by Station No. 7 in the early years consisted of a $500 hore-pulled hose wagon, and a $4,500 quarter-sized La France Steamer to which an American heater had been added. Four horses were kept at the firehouse until the equipment was motorized around 1920. The station was in active service for 69 years.

The South End of Houston began substantial residential development in the 1890s. Fire Station No. 7 is located near the Fairgrounds Addition which was platted in 1891 on the site of the old city fairgrounds and racetracks. However, the area of fire protection that this station serviced was a large one and included many important institutional buildings as well as the densely populated residential subdivisions surrounding it. Ben Russo, a retired fireman who is now the curator of the Houston Fire Museum, relates that not only did the firemen of No. 7 have a wide geographic area of responsibility, but that they often "ran with" the downtown units and played a part in controlling many major fires in the central business district, such as the 1942 Gulf Hotel fire which, until that time, was Houston's worst fire disaster.

In July of 1980, Houston Fire Museum, Inc., was recognized by the State of Texas as a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. In addition to developing the museum collection and providing tours, the Board of Directors is responsible for the preservation and operation of the present building, which is owned by the City of Houston.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1986.