City Fire Station

From the street the old fire station building looks quite small, I had no idea what was behind the facade. The old engines are part of the historical exhibits from the Museum of Fire and were relocated to the Station for Sydney Open.

A rare example of Victorian free classical architecture, the design of the fire station was considered innovative for its time and included features drawn from the experience of the London Metropolitan Fire Brigade. An adjacent brick warehouse (know as the Boot Factory) was purchased in 1923, and the interior converted for a gymnasium, carpentry shop, workshops and dormitory. In 1907 the original building was extended along Castlereagh Street to the north and in 1928 an enlarged fleet of motorised appliances necessitated the ground floor's conversion into two engine bays.

The need for a new and enlarged fire station was identified as early as 1934 yet, despite numerous proposals, the project was not progressed. In July 1999 an application was lodged with City of Sydney Council for works comprising refurbishment, adaptive reuse and new accommodation. Construction of the new station was completed in February 2003 and restoration of the 1887 building and stonework commenced the following month.