Fire Station No. 41 - Stories
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Fire Station No. 41 - A Unique Landmark
by Monica Wooton
My friend Brian says everyone loves a fire station.
For many of us they represent safety. It is the place you can get your blood pressure monitored, call to get your cat rescued from a tree, and have a too-tight ring cut off safely. It is the place where big, bright red engines reside and uniformed, well-trained, fit women and men are housed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. They are prepared for emergencies of all kinds, particularly fires. These civil servants will come any time of the day and night to your house to save property and lives. And the station is a favorite field trip for neighborhood school kids, with its loud alarm bells and sirens, interesting equipment, and kindly firefighters teaching fire safety tips.
Completed in 1934, Magnolia’s Fire Station No. 41 was the City’s last station to be added to a Seattle neighborhood. Though comparatively small in stature and operations to most others, this station is unique for its distinctive Streamline Moderne design. It is also a great example of planning, building, and construction through federal and local cooperation under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal . Fire Station No. 41 was officially designated a Seattle historical landmark on June 15th, 2005 (1). It is one of five Seattle historic landmarks in Magnolia, the others being Admiral’s House, Magnolia School, Magnolia Library, Fort Lawton Historic District and Salmon Bay Bridge.
Happenings in the U.S. and Seattle with fire stations in general
In early settlements, community neighbors with buckets were the only form of fire suppression. In Philadelphia in 1736, the first formal volunteer fire company was established by Benjamin Franklin as the Union Fire Company—also called Franklin’s Bucket Brigade. Sometimes there was payment involved by insurance companies who felt the volunteers could keep claims down from destruction of fire (2). Eventually:
As cities grew this method became unreliable, and the first professional fire department was established in Cincinnati in 1853. By the 20th century fire departments were forced to adapt to more modern hazards and dangers, such as high rise and hazardous material fires. They also began to expand their services to include other, non-fire, public safety needs including vehicle rescue and Emergency Medical Service. As of 2018, 62% of fire departments offered some form of emergency medical response… Firefighters in the United States today are organized along paramilitary lines, and are most often grouped into city or county departments. They utilize modern equipment. Professional fire departments protect 68% of the US population, with a total of 1,216,600 firefighters serving in 27,228 fire departments nationwide and responding to emergencies from 58,150 fire stations. Union firefighters are represented by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) (3).
Meanwhile, locally, according to an article from the city archives:
The City of Seattle was incorporated in 1869 but with no established means to protect the City from accidents by fire… fire protection was not added until 1883. That year, the Charter created a fire department and provided for fire engines and other apparatus, and a sufficient supply of water, and to levy and collect special taxes for these purposes... Equipment purchases were funded, but not firefighters (4).
In Seattle, the Fire Department was officially formed on April 11, 1884. Unpaid volunteers with buckets (seven volunteer groups altogether) who purchased minimal equipment, with access to some established water sources, were all the Department had at the beginning. These bucket brigades served Seattle until four years later, when on June 6, 1889, despite having insufficient organization, water pressure, and equipment, the central core of Seattle’s business district burned to the ground in one day. Forty-six acres of wooden buildings, made from the abundant local lumber surrounding the city, caught fire from an overheated glue pot in a cabinet-making shop and started what is now called the Great Seattle Fire.
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Firefighting at Front Street (now 1st Avenue) near Madison Street June 6, 1889. All volunteers fought this fire, though there were fire hydrants and equipment, the first fire station proved it was not enough. Water pressure fell dramatically as all hydrants were being used at the same time. Image source: “Great Seattle fire” by unknown is a public domain image from Wikimedia Commons via the University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections.
Then things changed
In the late 1800s, fire codes were established as a result of monumental fires in the US (5). Locally, insurance companies demanded a better system and more protection for Seattle residents. On October 17, 1889, a paid firefighting corps was created. Downtown buildings were rebuilt with brick. Five fire districts were created and one fireboat commissioned, and in 1890, the first permanent fire station was built at 7th Avenue and Columbia Street (6).
By 1895, sixty-two men were full-time paid firefighters, and ten were part-time. The early Fire Department got involved in the personal lives of the firefighters. It helped solve personal debts, assured landlords that firemen were employed and really being paid, and made exceptions for certain members based on personal circumstances when it came to the rules and regulations (7). In 1909, 611 people were employed with the Department. The number of employed firefighters waxed and waned because of World War I, and by 1925, 652 were employed, only slightly up from 1909.
“Inscription on front reads ‘Engine No. 1. Volunteer Fire Dept. Temporary quarters 2nd near Marion. July 23rd 1883. House afterward turned into Peisers Art Studio Jan 84.’ Persons posing with hose cart identified as Joe Keppler (noggleman [sic; presumably ‘nozzleman’], Will. Perry (engineer), Lizzie McDonald (child), Oscar Krieg (suctionman), John Storm (stoker), Al Cutlar.” Image and caption source: “Seattle Volunteer Fire Co engine Number 1 in 1883 at Seattle engine house on Columbia St (CURTIS 48)” by Theodore Peiser is a public domain image from Wikimedia Commons via the University of Washington: Special Collections.
After World War I, Seattle emerged as a leader in the nation for firefighting instruction (8). In the 1920s, seven fire stations were built and five replaced (9). Uniforms were designed and worn. Standard education and equipment training were new requirements; fitness became important and daily calisthenics were demanded of Seattle firefighters. By 1934, fire drills were a common part of readiness training here (10).
The City of Seattle added fire stations as the city grew. The early ones were solid, substantial brick buildings, some with watch and bell towers. Early on, a firefighter serving as watchman would be assigned to the tower to keep a lookout on the horizon for signs of smoke or fire (11). Stations had large cast bells rung manually to announce a fire needing extinguishing. Buildings with a Tudor influence and higher-pitched roofs became popular (12). Most commonly, however, fire stations simply followed the architecture styles of the times in which they were built. Today, the newest ones are contemporary in design, with artistic elements included (13).
After thirty years of urban growth, fire protection was brought to most areas of the city. Many stations were remodeled, especially with the modernizing move in 1924 from horse and carriages to motorized trucks with ladders and engines carrying water (14). As of today, thirty-three fire stations serve the City of Seattle (15).
Seattle’s Station No. 1, the first professional fire station at 7th Avenue and Columbia Street. Built in Brick Romanesque Revival Chicago Style architecture, the top photo shows the watch tower with bell. The bottom photo shows horse-drawn engines. This station served until 1937 when I-5 was built in its place. Photographs courtesy of Paul Dorpat Collection.
No. 41: Seattle’s last fire station
In 1930, Seattle was becoming a major city. The peninsular Magnolia, though, was just getting the Garfield Street Bridge (now the Magnolia Bridge) and was still a rural neighborhood with a few small dairy and subsistence farms and a relatively small population (16). At this time, neighbors with buckets had to deal with fires. The 1908 Interbay Fire Station No. 20 served Magnolia when larger fires or incidents required it (17).
The slow-to-grow population of Magnolia may not have immediately mandated the need for a fire station to be built in the 1930s. However, a hand from federal funding to pay for labor and provide jobs after the Great Depression might have just made it a project too good to pass up. The Magnolia Fire Station was built under the auspices of a unique work program developed by the New Deal policies of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to offset crippling unemployment of the Great Depression:
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) was a short-lived job creation program established by the New Deal during the Great Depression in the United States in order to rapidly create mostly manual-labor jobs for millions of unemployed workers. The jobs were merely temporary, for the duration of the hard winter of 1933–34. President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveiled the CWA on November 8, 1933, and put Harry L. Hopkins in charge of the short-term agency…
The CWA was a project created under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). The CWA created construction jobs, mainly improving or constructing buildings and bridges. It ended on March 31, 1934, after spending $200 million a month and giving jobs to four million people (18).
The CWA gave way in March 1934 to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which in this state was known as the Washington Emergency Relief Administration (WERA). Under this program, jobs were provided in a vast array of areas: vocational training, farming, producing needed consumer goods such as toys, shoes, and mattresses; civil construction projects like bridges, roads, and in Magnolia’s case its fire station. The building projects were often cooperative endeavors using professional teams to do the design, engineering, and blueprints. As a result, often no one person was given credit (19). In the case of Fire Station No. 41, we do not know who gave us the unique design of the building (20).
The WERA scrapbook in the Washington State Archives documents in detail every aspect of the program in Work Division District No. 2, 1934-35 in Washington’s King, Kitsap, Clallam, and Jefferson counties. The Magnolia Fire Station was one of the projects outlined on pages 307-309. Plans were done under the CWA Architectural Development Project 17-372. The report states that it was a 65/35 funded project: 65% percent of materials, equipment, supplies, and some wage-related costs were paid by the sponsor (City of Seattle) with the remaining 35% relief wages by the federal government. Half of the work on this project was done by union men taken off of WERA relief rolls and working under a City supervisor (mostly non-tradesmen, who did 5,461 hours of work in total). In September, the WERA, at 50% completion of the project, had no more funds for this project and left the rest to the City of Seattle. With help from the federal government, Fire Station No. 41 cost a total of $18,000, including about $6,000 in wages for its construction from WERA funds.
Fire Station No. 41
Forty-three years after Magnolia had been annexed into the city, Magnolia was finally about to get its own fire station (21). In July of 1934, men delivered lumber to a vacant lot located at 2416 34th Avenue West (22). They broke ground on a parcel of land up the corner from West McGraw Street. Fire Station No. 41 would be standing for many years before it was part of Magnolia Village as we know it today:
Joan Santucci’s story "The Village" in Magnolia: Memories & Milestones describes this part of the neighborhood in the late twenties and early thirties:
At the time Seattle’s original zoning ordinance was adopted, some lots on West McGraw Street were zoned for business. By 1925, there were four stores open for business: Craigen’s Magnolia Pharmacy, Jorgenson’s [Carlton Park] Market, Howard T. Lewis Real Estate and Scott’s Service Station on McGraw Street. On April 1, 1927, Magnolia Hardware opened and joined the new business district…By 1933, Magnolia’s shopping district had grown to include two grocery stores, a dry cleaner and a barbershop (23).
This photo of the construction site of Magnolia’s Fire Station No. 41, begun July 1934, was included in the Division 2 Works Project Summaries Scrapbook page 308. The dirt road in front of the site will be the future 32nd Avenue West. Image source: WERA Scrapbook, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives.
Streamline Moderne Architecture
Fire Station No. 41 was designed in the Streamline Moderne architectural style, an international variation of the Art Deco style that emerged in the 1930s (24).
In the US, Streamline Moderne architecture was inspired by aerodynamic design, a stylistic concept first introduced by industrial designers whose new products were stripped "of…ornament in favor of pure-line of motion and speed. (25)" This style reflected the Machine Age of the early 1930s. The popularity of Streamline Moderne design in the United States originated at the 1933-1934 Chicago World’s Fair, which introduced the style to the general public. Its architectural elements emphasized long horizontal lines, aerodynamic curves, and nautical elements inspired by the luxury French "ocean liner SS Normandie, launched in 1932. (26)"
As the Great Depression progressed, this new style was quickly adopted for its low cost yet high graphic effect, perfectly suited for austere economic times. It became popular "in buildings related to transportation and movement, such as bus and train stations, airport terminals, roadside cafes, port buildings," and, of course, fire stations (27).
King County Tax Division, Property Tax Records photo for Fire Station No. 41.1936. Photograph courtesy of Hoshide Wanzer Architects + Interiors.
Buildings of this style are characterized by rounded corners and curved marquees applied to a simple, flat-roof, box shape. Architectural elements are minimal, reduced to glass brick walls, "chrome-plated hardware and horizontal grooves or lines on walls (28)" Facades are finished in smooth stucco over concrete, painted "white or in subdued pastel colors. (29)"
Following the construction of Fire Station No. 41, the Landmark Nomination Report from 2005 details that:
…at least two similar style fire stations in the region were constructed. Bremerton’s Station No. 1 was designed by local architect Floyd A. Naramore, and constructed ca. 1939. In Renton, a fire station designed by Ivan Palmer was built in 1941, as one of the last building designed and built by the CWA. This station current[ly] serves as the Renton Historical Museum. These two buildings and Station No. 41 each embody the character-defining features of the Streamlined Moderne style...(30)
In Seattle, "there are a few examples of Streamline Moderne industrial buildings, such as the Coca Cola Bottling Company building at 1313 East Columbia Street," now a historic landmark, "…and the Safety Supply Building at 5510 East Marginal Way South. (31)" In the Interbay area, a few examples can also be found along Elliott Avenue West. "The scarcity of the Streamlined Moderne style in Seattle may be the result of poor quality Depression era construction, the passing popularity of the style, or its application on smaller buildings subject to subsequent development pressures and demolition. (32)"
Luckily, the 1934 Fire Station No. 41 has retained its original form. The well-maintained structure’s designation as a Seattle Landmark assured the preservation of its unique design and history for generations.
Fire Station No. 41 exterior features
The original concrete building is mostly comprised of two distinct volumes of different heights: a large one-and-a-half-story apparatus bay set at the northwest corner and a small one-story station office with curved-sash windows and canopy that strongly signals the public entrance. The volume of the semi-circular station office extends slightly up front, its curved gesture attaching itself gently to the main building structure (33).
The exterior of the building prior to the upper fueling station and wall was installed before the second renovation, circa 1987. Photograph courtesy of the Office of Arts & Culture.
Meanwhile, "[t]he primary west facade is an asymmetrical composition, departing from symmetrical designs of older stations. (34)" The apparatus bay’s large opening dominates the main facade with its two pairs of ten-by-eleven foot steel garage doors, which are adorned with a double-chevron pattern with copper rivets. The doors have a narrow vertical window set in the center of each door—the station office entry door is similar in style.
The left part of the facade is rounded and features a flag pole that rises above the building parapet, ending with three aluminum retaining rings that hold the flag post. The slim concrete flagpole support is attached alongside a vertical brick pillar, which turns into a vertical brick line that catches the horizontal brick banding of the curved corner as well as the slim canopy above the garage door area. Signage that reads "Fire Station No. 41…" is displayed along the horizontal band, the copper lettering appropriately painted in bright fire truck red.
At the back of the building and the rear of the apparatus bay is a narrow hose tower and a chimney tied together to create a strong vertical emphasis above the roof. The visible face of the hose tower also has a zigzag pattern shaped in concrete.
Originally, the north facade of the building was more exposed to view before the construction of the Magnolia Theater north on the corner of West Smith Street. In a classical symmetrical composition, large rectangular multi-paned steel sash windows, with an upper square window centered above it, are spaced at regular intervals, tied together between bands of brick trims. The proportions, horizontal banding, and crisp lines of this facade are inspired by Art Deco architectural detailing.
Behind the visible facades is an L-shaped volume that "wraps around the southeast corner, containing living crew quarters with a basement level. (35)" The south facade itself "is composed of two components - the west end with its slightly stepped parapet and brick banding, and the less detailed eastern portion. (36)"
For obvious reasons, the fire station had to be fireproof. "The building is a reinforced structure with 10” thick walls," and its floors and roofs are concrete slabs (37). The walls were made using a board-form concrete pouring technique that captures the texture and pattern of the wood grain.
The original colors of the building seem quite different than the ones we have seen used on the station in later years. The association of the color red with fire stations gained popularity only around the 1920s. The 1936 black-and-white tax photograph of the building shows that the walls are finished in smooth concrete and painted in a light neutral tone, including the window sash. The concrete canopies and brick banding are left bare or unpainted. The tall garage doors are painted in white, with a contrasting color for its windows that is hard to identify. The hose tower also appears darker than the rest of the chimney. It is possible that the building structure was left bare because of economic constraints of the Depression, and the finishes were tackled later during better economic times.
Fire Station No. 41 interior plan
The original interior layout of Fire Station No. 41 clearly separated public and private spaces (38). Reflecting the composition of the exterior volume, the station office had a distinguished public lobby defined by a curved glass block wall, echoing the curved window corner of the room (39). Behind the lobby were the day room and instrument room, creating a transition to the more private areas of the fire station set in the back. The "original Officer’s Rooms were located east of the Instrument Room...(40)" To the north is the hose tower and a concrete stair leading to a partial basement, which was "excavated only at the east end of the building…(41)" where a kitchen and clothes and storage rooms were located. On the opposite side of the hose tower was the original dormitory/bunkroom area with shower and restroom facilities.
The main interior feature of Fire Station No. 41 is the 15’ 8” tall apparatus room. Behind the engine area was a large handball court, later removed to accommodate larger fire engines.
Historic Landmark Fire Station No. 41 after second renovation, circa 2010. Photograph courtesy of Hoshide Wanzer Architects + Interiors.
Changes to the building
Building upgrades to prolong the life of Seattle’s fire stations were mandated by ballot measures through a voter levy. For architects, the challenge of each renovation was to shoehorn state-of-the-art firefighting equipment and support facilities into older or registered historic buildings (42).
Ninety years after its completion, Fire Station No. 41 went through two major renovation projects, including an addition, in order to prolong the life of the building while meeting the latest construction codes. Regardless of the many changes done to the building, today the fire station is modernized for the newest engines and apparatuses, while retaining most of its original design.
In the last twenty-five years the main facade was modified, at first with the installation of a low wall and later by changes to the apparatus bay opening. A five foot tall stucco-clad concrete block wall matching the style of the building, and a diesel fueling station replacing an earlier underground fuel tank and fuel station, were placed near the building entry (43). Unfortunately, the fueling block "obscures views of the building’s" main facade (44). The large opening of the apparatus bay was modified by removing the two existing bay doors and installing in its place a new four-fold bay door inside the original opening. The new doors were modeled after the original ones, which were salvaged and reinstalled as wall panels inside the engine room. A new solid infill panel was installed in order to retain the original dimension and design of the grand opening.
On the north side, two of the four large window openings were infilled with concrete and equipped with mechanical vents. On the south side, six out of seven original windows were replaced with similar ones. These two sides retained most of their original features. Eventually, a new crew wing addition was added at the far rear of the lot, separated from the original station by a glass entry hall that connect both levels of the fire station. With its corrugated metal siding, the building is contemporary in looks, with horizontal reveals that refer to the painted inlaid brick trims of the original station. From the alley way, the south-east corner of the original station has a new walkway that leads to the glass hall, as well as a new deck and balustrades made of galvanized metal.
Aside from the apparatus bay, which has been reconfigured, the interior of the station retains little of the original floor layout, upgraded over time to serve ever changing needs. The handball court and stairwell to the basement were removed. By relocating the crew wing into a separate structure, all public rooms and facilities of the station were upgraded in efficiency and size. The crew addition is properly equipped with bunk rooms and bathrooms on the main floor, and with storage and physical training areas at the basement level.
Original apparatus bay doors, circa 2007. Photograph courtesy of Hoshide Wanzer Architects + Interiors.
Fire Station No. 41 Timeline
1934-1984: For 50 years, there seem to be no major changes to the fire station.
1984: Voters approved a bond issue that allowed for the renovation of 16 fire stations (45).
1986-1987: Repairs and renovations by MAKERS architecture and urban design (46).
This project was "…intended to provide upgrading to meet the 1979" Uniform Building Code for an additional 40-year of life to the station. This project anticipated that the station "…would house a single 27’ long pumper truck and a typical staff of three personnel at any one time…" At a "cost of $323,743...work included additional paving to the parking and driveways areas, in-kind replacement of original windows, relocation of kitchen, new dormitory/bunk rooms, new restrooms including toilet/shower rooms for women firefighters, and upgrading of all systems and finishes. (47)"
1987: Artwork installed, “Hot Cha Cha” by Kenny Schneider (48).
Part of the City’s 1 Percent for Art program, the art piece is an interactive kinetic sculpture. Set inside a stainless steel case at the back of the front yard, "sixty-six identical stainless steel firefighters, each with moveable arms and legs," are aligned and displayed on shelves (49). "They are strung together along six shafts that rotate in unison through connection gears. All the figures dance and march when passersby turn a handle on the side of the case. (50)"
December 1999: Exhaust system upgrade, Architectural Interior Design Association (51).
Circa 2000: Fueling station upgrade (52).
A five foot tall, stucco-clad concrete block screen wall and a diesel fueling station were placed near the building’s entry to match the style of the building, replacing an earlier underground fuel tank and fuel station.
2003: Voters approved the Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy (53).
2005: Fire Station No. 41 is nominated as a Seattle Landmark (54).
2007-2010: Renovation and addition by Hoshide Wanzer Architects + Interiors (55).
The project consisted mostly of redefining the front opening and interior of the apparatus bay to accommodate larger vehicles and support facilities, to completely transform the lobby, day and administration areas and attached facilities, and to relocate and build a new crew wing addition and hall at the rear end of the lot. The project would meet the 2006 International Building Code.
Sept. 2024: New landscape garden, Carleton Park Garden Club.
Designed by the Carleton Park Garden Club with labor donated by Rainbow of Magnolia and awarded funds, the traditional front lawn and small shrubs were replaced by a landscaped garden space.
“Hot Cha Cha” by Kenny Schneidner. Photograph courtesy of City of Seattle Department of Finance and Administrative Services, 1 Percent for Art program, administered by the Office of Arts & Culture.
Field Trip to the Fire Station: Fun Facts
Once a Magnolian, firefighter Mark Hauge drives Engine 41. He proudly shows off the spic-and-span station and rings the original bell, still hanging in good condition on the wall. It used to be a loud, clanging call to action, but new electronic systems provide the warnings now. Boots and bunking coats stand ready. The crew meets at the "hitch," the approximate place the horses and carriage would be in the barn back in the day. Today it is called the apparatus floor or bay. The previous day’s crew meets with the oncoming crew at shift change at 8:00 a.m. each and every day. It is a time to catch each other up regarding official and important station business and chat about personal goings-on. Shifts are 24 hours long, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., with prescribed days off in between. Uniforms have improved over the years with fire retardant fabrics, but have always been some iteration of boots, gloves, helmets, protective coats, and pants with suspenders—all heavy and durable.
The "beanery" is the kitchen, so named because in the early days a pot of chili or ham hocks and beans would simmer on the stove to provide inexpensive, healthy, and hearty fuel for the firefighters. Some stations have made firehouse cooking an art. Fire station cookbooks abound. In this station, firefighters take turns cooking. Firefighters pay out of pocket for their food, by gathering money for what they term "the clutch." Shopping has to occur in Magnolia as they are always on call. Recipes are simple meat-and-potatoes fare: It doesn’t have to be good, it just has to be enough.
Station 41 originally had a handball court, a relatively popular way for firefighters to stay in shape in in the 30s and 40s. The game required little equipment and kept the crew fit. Due to injuries, it has fallen out of favor, and gave way to personal exercise rooms and equipment. This station has a workout room with the usual fitness equipment of the day in the basement of the new wing. The famous fire poles have fallen in and out of use because of injuries and insurance costs. In fact, Station 41 never had one, though there are still plenty in the larger Seattle stations. The hose tower remains in use today to dry one-hundred feet of hose, even with new materials making hoses them less prone to rot and mildew. They are still hung just as they always have been.
Gone were communal sleeping quarters when women arrived to the force in Seattle in 1978; eventually new configurations of these and bathrooms were created. Today each firefighter has their own sleeping quarters at the Magnolia station. There are four firefighters on each platoon (A, B, C, and D), each with unique personalities. Currently, no women serve at this station.
Engine apparatus No. 51, a 1920 American La France 1000 GPM Triple Combination Pumper that Station No. 41 inherited and used in its first year of service. The engine sizes necessitated remodels of the Station. Photograph and information: Galen Thomaier, Last Resort Fire Department Museum.
Most engines were hand-me-down, but today Engine 41 is a brand new engine that came to the Station in 2023.
This station’s lobby has photos and memorabilia dear to the crew, maintaining the history of the station and neighborhood. Through a door you enter the watch office and beanery. A custom table with a carving of the station’s motto hand built by firefighter David Cantwell, a now-retired Engine 41 driver, is the centerpiece of the beanery and a gathering place for family style meals. Off that is the "Bull Pen," the TV room. Some distinctive elements of this fire station are the many street signs from Magnolia hung throughout the building. The fallen signs are rescued from the area and placed throughout the station as a friendly reminder of the neighborhood street names.
First watch book of Fire Station No. 41 and page one, circa 1934. Photograph courtesy of Monica Wooton.
Station No. 41 has all of its original "watch books," the handwritten daily records now replaced by computer technology, dating back to its first day of operation. Each fire station has a patch, and Station 41’s includes its motto: "All 41 and one for all."
Fire Station No. 41 patch. Shared by Mark Hauge. Photograph courtesy of Monica Wooton.
In 1948, the Station’s next door neighbor, the Magnolia Theater, was the largest building in the Village and one of its hottest businesses. The theater's Art Deco theme in architectural touches and interior design matched its smaller neighbor to some extent. The fire station and the theater also shared another thing in common:
The concession bar closed about an hour after intermission and the leftover popcorn was always taken next door to the Magnolia fire station for the firemen to enjoy. The fire department made sure the theater curtain, a common source of movie theater fires, was tested and safe. They also served as the first-aid station for anyone sustaining minor injuries at the show (56).
Mark Twain was once quoted as saying, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” That’s exactly how I feel every time I go to work at Fire Station No. 41.
Living in Seattle and raising two boys with my wife in Magnolia made my work at the neighborhood fire station a very special time for me. Seeing neighbors both socially and professionally was something I considered a perk of the job. My feeling was that if someone needed help, they would feel a little more at ease when a familiar face was there to meet them.
I love waving to neighbors while I drive the engine, chatting with them as they pass by the station, and encourage any kid curious enough to climb into the front seat of the big, red fire engine. Years ago, “Maggie” was a name coined by one neighborhood girl as she visited the station. She thought Magnolia was the name of the engine and started calling it Maggie after a friend of hers. It’s a perfect name: “Maggie from Magnolia.” A fine engine for a wonderful neighborhood.
I am honored I can include my name to the roster of firefighters who have served this neighborhood.
Mark Hauge, Magnolia Firefighter
Author’s acknowledgments: Special thanks to Guy Besner for his help on the architectural sections of this story. His expertise as an architect and his writing was an immense help to me. Bob Hoshide, of Hoshide Wanzer Architects + Interiors, also an architect and lead in the firm that did the last extensive remodel of the station, was also extremely helpful and provided many images. Mark Hauge, firefighter at Station No. 41 was helpful in showing me around the station and familiarizing me with firefighter and station info. I thank him as well.
Notes
1. Susan Boyle, Angela Cassidy, and Matt Hamel of BOLA Architecture and Planning, "Seattle Fire Station No. 41, Landmark Nomination Report" to City of Seattle, Jan. 2005, 11.
2. "Firefighting in the United States." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 23 Feb. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefighting_in_the_United_States.
3. "Firefighting."
4. "Strength & Stamina: Women in the Seattle Fire Department." Seattle Municipal Archives, 2020. www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhibits-and-education/online-exhibits/strength-and-stamina-women-in-the-fire-department.
5. "10 Historical Fires That Transformed Building Codes." Firefree blog. Firefree Coatings, Inc., 8 June 2023. www.firefree.com/blog/10-historical-fires-that-changed-building-codes/.
6. "Seattle Fire Department History." Last Resort Fire Department. 2007. lastresortfd.org/SFD_History.htm.
7. "Strength & Stamina."
8. "Strength & Stamina."
9. Boyle 10.
10. "Strength & Stamina."
11. Mark Hauge, personal interview, 10 Sept. 2024.
12. "Seattle Fire Department History."
13. "Fire Stations." Seattle Fire Department. seattle.gov/fire/about-us/fire-stations.
14. Boyle 10.
15. Boyle 10.
16. Hauge.
17. "Summary for 3205 13th AVE / Parcel ID 2770604505 / Inv # SFD010." Seattle Historical Sites, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. web.seattle.gov/DPD/HistoricalSite/QueryResult.aspx?ID=-319956616.
18. "Civil Works Administration." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 16 Aug. 2024. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Works_Administration.
19. Boyle 14.
20. Boyle 14.
21. "Summary for 2416 34th AVE / Parcel ID 2225039052/Inv # SFD010." Seattle Historical Sites, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. web.seattle.gov/DPD/HistoricalSite/QueryResult.aspx?ID=1107984382.
22. WERA Scrapbook, Washington Emergency Relief Administration, Division 2 Works Projects Summaries, 1934-1935, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, digitalarchives.wa.gov/Scrapbook/Index/2862. 307-309.
23. Joan Santucci, "The Village," Magnolia: Memories & Milestones, Seattle: Magnolia Historical Society, 2000.
24. Boyle 16-18.
25. "Streamline Moderne," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 5 Oct. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streamline_Moderne.
26. "Streamline Moderne."
27. "Streamline Moderne."
28. "Streamline Moderne."
29. "Streamline Moderne."
30. Boyle 18.
31. Boyle 17.
34. Boyle 17-18.
35. Boyle 5-6.
36. Boyle 5.
37. "Summary for 2416 34th AVE."
38. Boyle 6.
39. Boyle 5.
40. Boyle 7.
41. Boyle 7.
42. Boyle 7.
43. Boyle 7.
44. Boyle 3-9.
45. Boyle 4.
46. Boyle 4.
47. Beth Chave, "Ordinance 1224668," Seattle Office of the City Clerk, 22 Aug. 2007, clerk.seattle.gov/~archives/Ordinances/Ord_122468.pdf.
48. Boyle 8, 11.
49. Boyle 8.
50. "Hot Cha Cha," Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, seattlearts.emuseum.com/objects/964/hot-cha-cha.
51. Boyle 8.
52. "Hot Cha Cha."
53. Boyle 8.
54. Boyle 4.
55. Miriam Roskin, memo. Seattle Office of the City Clerk, 2003, clerk.seattle.gov/~public/fnote/114785.htm
56. Chave.
57. Hoshide Wanzer Architects + Interiors, architectural plans, 2007.
58. Mike Musselwhite, "Magnolia’s Theater… Gone, But Never Forgotten," Magnolia: Midcentury Memories. Seattle: Magnolia Historical Society, 2020.
A New Landscape for Fire Station No. 41
The following remarks were spoken by co-president of the Carleton Park Garden Club, Gretchen Taylor, and garden club member and garden designer Susan Reilly on September 26, 2024, the day of dedication for the new landscaping of Magnolia’s Fire Station No. 41.
Good Day!
On behalf of Carleton Park Garden Club…Welcome!
My name is Gretchen Taylor and beside me is Kathy Carr, co-presidents of the Carleton Park Garden Club. The Club was founded in 1948. For seventy-six years our club’s focus has been the beautification of our community. We are here today to celebrate our firefighters and the beautification of the gardens at this grand fire station.
Fire Station No. 41 was built in 1934. This Art Deco building (Streamline Moderne style) is a treasure! It was designated a Landmark in 2005. Garden Club members believed this amazing building deserved a new and fresh landscape that would enhance not only the building, but enhance the work experience of the firefighters who spend so much time here. Fire Station No. 41’s engine driver Mark Hauge reached out to a member of the Club at a neighborhood National Night Out event about the plight of the landscape.
And, here is how this all came together:
Step 1: A BIG ONE!
The Club reached out to Rainbow of Magnolia Landscaping to get a bid to remove the existing landscape. You can only imagine our surprise when this wonderful company offered to donate the cost of labor to this project. Rainbow’s early generosity gave us confidence that we could make this transformation happen! In August 2023, we then began the design and planning meetings, which included Carleton Park Garden Club, Fire Station No. 41, and Rainbow of Magnolia Landscaping. We needed to establish what the firefighters wanted to see here.
Step 2: FUNDING
From creativity and design, we next needed to get the money to make this happen. At that point, the Garden Club began applying for grants.
Step 3: PLANT SELECTION
Carleton Park Garden Club lead, Susan Reilly, chose every plant that you see here and hand-sculpted the ceramic pottery of the Zen garden feature. Susan shared:
This garden was created by focusing on four key elements:
1) A red and black color palette: We have chosen vibrant red flowers like roses, coneflowers and beardtongue set against the deep, dark foliage of plants like obsidian heuchera and black stonecrop.
2) Pollinator-friendly plants: Plants such as Fringe Flower, Weigela, Beardtongue, Sedums and Coneflower provide vital resources for pollinators.
3) Water-wise choices: we incorporated an underground irrigation system and mulched to conserve water and maintain soil moisture.
4) Elements inspired by Art Deco architecture: we incorporated curved pathways with square pavers and a circle patio as a focal point. These architectural elements help create a cohesive design and the reflection of the Art Deco architecture of the building.
Step 4: BREAKING GROUND
Project groundbreaking took place in late fall 2023 and the Project was completed
January 2024. That, brings us to today….Step 5.
Step 5: DEDICATION
Today we dedicate this garden to firefighters of Magnolia, acknowledge and thank
those who collaborated to make this garden a reality.
We acknowledge the following contributors:
The members of the Carleton Park Garden Club for project management, grant writing
and garden design, plant selection.
Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, Tiffany Hedrick, for restoring the “Hot Cha Cha” art sculpture back to its 1987 sparkle and functionality.
The City of Seattle Neighborhood Matching Fund, for a grant of $5,000. Thank you
Karen Selander.
We received the National Garden Club’s Plant America Grant for $2,000.
Rainbow of Magnolia Landscaping: Gregory Kostyra and Dariusz Stuj, who have, to date, donated approximately $10,000 in labor to install plants, hardscape, irrigation, lighting as well as overseeing the ongoing maintenance of this luscious garden.
We are honored to dedicate this garden to the firefighters at Station No. 41 and the community of Magnolia.
The ribbon cutting. Front row (L to R): Mark Hauge, firefighter at Station No. 41; Aaron Williams, Rainbow of Magnolia Landscaping; Gretchen Taylor and Kathy Carr, co-presidents of Carleton Park Garden Club.
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Before and after photos illustrate the refreshed paint job of the Station closer to its original color, refurbished sculpture, and redone garden. Photographs courtesy of Gretchen Taylor.
Detail of Zen garden feature: A circular pattern represents a pond and pottery carp were handmade by Susan Reilly, designer of the garden and member of Carleton Park Garden Club. Photograph courtesy of Monica Wooton.
Learn more about the Carleton Park Garden Club in Magnolia: Midcentury Memories, "A Rose by Any Other Name: Magnolia’s Garden Clubs" pages 206-212 by Sarah O’Neil, available now in a Kindle edition from Amazon with our other two books: Magnolia: Memories & Milestones and Magnolia: Making More Memories.
Seattle's Women Firefighters: Magnolian Bonnie Beers Was The First
by Monica Wooton
On a national level, women were active firefighters as far back as the 1800s, but the positions were voluntary and mostly in rural, semi-urban, and private fire departments (1).
Early in the 1800s, Molly Williams, an enslaved woman in New York, was the first woman volunteer firefighter of an engine company. The second was also a volunteer in the Pittsburgh Fire Department, Marina Betts. By 1910, there were two all-women volunteer units: one in Silver Springs, Maryland and the other in Los Angeles. For years after, all-women volunteer firefighting corps sprung up here and there. During World War II women replaced men where needed, again as volunteers. It was not until the 1960s that women firefighters became more established, and the US Forest Service really gave women their first break into the field as paid professionals (2).
In Seattle, men of underrepresented races were the focus of equal opportunity recruitment in the 60s due to civil rights laws. But the only job in the Fire Department for a woman was as a clerical worker. These jobs became “women only” positions, ironically. The history of women as firefighters is complicated and did not arise in Seattle until the 70s once the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 was passed.
The existing firefighting culture was one of men only, many from military backgrounds, who formed a fraternal brotherhood. As a result, women being accepted as firefighters has been fraught with issues. As reported on by the City of Seattle: "The story of the women who changed the image of female firefighters from the unusual to the usual is one of courage, hard work, and perseverance. (3)"
More from this article:
City Council Member Jeanette Williams, as head of the Human Resources and Judiciary Committee in the 1970s, was acutely aware of affirmative action issues. In 1974, Williams responded to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article that questioned the attitude of some in the Fire Department towards women, and asked the Office of Women’s Rights to propose "that some type of procedure be set up to check up on this attitude problem...."
Mayor Wes Uhlman and Fire Chief Jack Richards exchanged correspondence in 1974 about bringing women firefighters into the Department. The City considered the possibility of using San Diego as a model; Chief Bell wrote from San Diego that its program was not successful as the first five females were terminated for "lack of required strength." Bell also warned Richards that in addition to the strength and agility issues, "You may also expect considerable reaction from your employees, their wives, and the public which quite probably will put you in a position of extreme criticism and condemnation regardless of what action you take....If you change any existing standards you will be charged with discrimination in favor of females, if you don't you will be discriminating against females. (4)"
Recruiting flyer, circa 1980. Image Source: Seattle Municipal Archives, image 73062, “Strength & Stamina: Women in the Seattle Fire Department.”
In 1975, an affirmative action report from the previous year spurred the Seattle Fire Department to recruit its first women into training. To begin firefighting training, all had to first pass a written exam, a physical abilities test, participate in an oral interview, and pass the Law Enforcement Officer and Firefighters (LEOFF) medical standards test. This was followed by ten weeks of training school and six months of probation. Out of 125 women, 6 made it into the training program. Five resigned, feeling they did not have the upper body strength needed. The sixth, Lori Lakshas, was let go and subsequently filed a discrimination suit, claiming the required medical exam was discriminatory, holding women to different standards than men and giving misleading diagnoses. It was upheld.
The first woman hired by the Seattle Fire Department was Magnolian Bonnie Beers. Here she is early in her firefighting career. Photograph courtesy of Bonnie Beers.
Physical and mechanical shortcomings were cited by the Fire Department for the failure of women to make it. As a result, the Department developed a new program of pre-recruit training for women. The first pre-recruit class began in 1977. Barbara "Bonnie" Beers was the first woman to pass recruitment training, and became Seattle’s first woman firefighter. She entered the Department noting "the physical rigor, as well as the monetary benefits and sense of personal accomplishment, as her challenges and rewards." Yet the process took a toll: "…being the first woman in the department was heavy, with many of her male coworkers (and members of the public) making it clear they did not believe she belonged there[JT1] . (5)"
Breaking barriers
It was not easy to break the glass ceiling in firefighting, and the process was arduous for Beers. According to the article "Women in the Fire Department" from the Seattle Municipal Archives:
Three of the five women who resigned from the 1976 recruit class were hired in January 1977 for the first female firefighter pre-recruit class. By mid-March, two of the three women had resigned, one due to injury. The third was Barbara (Bonnie) Beers. She continued in one-to-one instruction in technical training and did her physical training independently.
Because there was not another female pre-recruit training in 1977, Beers entered the minority male pre-recruit training in June 1977. She finished that successfully and went into the recruit class in December, entering a combat company in January 1978. The 5'9", 160-pound Beers had been a basketball player for the University of Washington. In an interview with The New York Times, Beers…stressed the psychological burden of being the first woman firefighter in the Department: "I get sick of the battering from every new person I meet. Having to explain and prove myself is wearing." Beers knew the men did not want her around. "They accept it. But, in general, they'd rather not have us around, rather not have to deal with it. I don't want to give the impression that I'm hated. But I'm not loved either."
The Fire Department called on Beers to help out with incoming female recruits and to provide input for the pre-recruit program. In 1982, Fire Chief Robert Swartout promoted her to Lieutenant over men with higher scores. "The exam cannot be the only criterion," he said. However, later in her career Beers felt she was passed over for promotions she deserved (6).
Further, the article reports thoroughly that though the first hurdles were overcome, there have been many years of other challenges that followed and continue to this day. Issues around pregnancy, promotion, working in other areas of the Fire Department, pre-recruitment programs coming and going, and new laws that restrict minority recruitment have both hurt and helped women hoping to be firefighters. "As of 2008, 93 of the 1,038 firefighters in Seattle were women, close to 9% and much higher than the national average. By 2020 the number had decreased to 7%. Women were working in all areas of the Fire Department, as paramedics, dispatchers, and fire marshal inspectors, as well as firefighters." Beers finished her career and is now retired. She and the women who followed in her footsteps have paved the way for women to become firefighters in Seattle. Still, Beers remains concerned that with affirmative action no longer in force, recruitment will not be encouraging to women and the conditions that women still endure as firefighters in some instances will still make it hard for them in the coming years (7).
Beers finished her career and is now retired. She and the women who followed in her footsteps have paved the way for women to become firefighters in Seattle. Still, Beers remains concerned that with affirmative action no longer in force, recruitment will not be encouraging to women and the conditions that women still endure as firefighters in some instances will still make it hard for them in the coming years (8).
“I was young and naive and I thought I could do anything. In the 1970’s the song ‘I am Woman’ played on the radio and the Women’s Liberation Movement was alive! I had played sports in the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), at Holy Names Academy, and was a good athlete. I was on the first official UW women’s basketball team in 1975.
When I applied to the Seattle Fire Department, I did not realize there were no women firefighters. Six women (including me) entered the SFD recruit class in 1975. We all failed. The women’s pre-recruit program was then created. It was modeled after a program for minority males. The program taught women specific ways to use couplings, shift ladders and place the engine in pump and lay fire lines. The program was successful, and also controversial due to its cost. But, after completing that program, I entered the regular recruit class again in 1977, succeeding and becoming Seattle's first woman firefighter. Seattle was one of the first metropolitan cities (over 100,000 population) to have paid women firefighters.
The City of Seattle’s Office of Women’s Rights (now Human Rights) was a great resource for me. Although rarely needed, it helped knowing I had that official backup and they were in my corner. I loved being in the Department, having a secure well-paying job with benefits and a chance to help people. My first 5 years were hard. I was under constant media attention, always being picked first for every drill or exercise and repeatedly having to prove myself. My female voice on the radio made the firefighters’ ears perk up and listen to all of my fire calls. They were waiting for me to make mistakes. I was not expected to perform well especially at fire scenes. But, I had learned to be a team player in sports and this helpful skill carried over into my firefighting career. I always tried to perform at my highest level. Early in my career (1978-79) I made two rescues as a member of the E-25 company on A shift. E-25 was a busy engine company at Station 25 on Capitol Hill. My success there finally proved I could do this job.
In the 1980s, we had nearly 100 women out of 1000 firefighters. Those numbers now have dwindled due to the repeal of affirmative action. The fact is: women make good firefighters! Women can do the job well (yes, with some strength considerations, but adding other qualities men may lack). And, women make up half of the population we serve. Knowing and living it out in the Seattle Fire Department with all those who have followed in my footsteps proving it. I retired in 2008 as a Battalion Chief after 31 years with the Department.”
Bonnie Beers, Seattle Firefighter
Notes
1. "Women in the Fire Department," Seattle Municipal Archives, www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhibits-and-education/digital-document-libraries/women-in-the-fire-department.
2. "Women in firefighting," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 10 Oct. 2024. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_firefighting.
3. "Women in the Fire Department."
4. "Women in the Fire Department."
5. "Strength & Stamina: Women in the Seattle Fire Department." Seattle Municipal Archives, 2020. www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhibits-and-education/online-exhibits/strength-and-stamina-women-in-the-fire-department.
6. "Women in the Fire Department."
7. "Women in the Fire Department."
8. Bonnie Beers, phone interview. 2 Oct. 2024.
9. Beers.
More On The New Deal “Alphabet Agencies”
by Monica Wooton
The Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Washington State Emergency Relief Program (WERA) deliver in a great time of need
The Magnolia Fire Station was a classic example of the work done through New Deal Programs, often referred to as "alphabet agencies," that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt instituted to alleviate the tremendous suffering caused by unprecedented unemployment brought on by the Great Depression.
These programs were well-organized and clearly defined, with goals based on high ideals of lifting folks up out of the despondency and despair of unemployment into meaningful work or job training. They stressed good work environments, self-esteem, and cooperation. It was a model program for efficient and meaningful work between governments local and federal. They also often had the added attraction of producing much-needed things such as food or goods that were scarce because of the lack of money caused by unemployment.
1935 US editorial cartoon in the Chicago Daily News by Vaughn Shoemaker parodies the New Deal agencies. Image source: “Alphabet Agencies” via the History 12 Blog is in the public domain.
In one year in the United States this program was very productive: "…the CWA ultimately included roughly 200,000 projects around the country. All projects were on public land and were sponsored by the state, local, or federal government…(1)" Moreover, "…[l]ocal governments paid a percentage of costs for materials which were matched by federal funding to hire workers for a designated project. Priority was given to projects that could be implemented quickly or would employ the largest number of people...(2)"
Looking at the numbers, "CWA workers laid 12 million feet of sewer pipe and built or improved 255,000 miles of roads, 40,000 schools, 3,700 playgrounds, and nearly 1,000 airports. (3)"
One volume in the Washington State Archives, an actual WERA scrapbook, documents every aspect of the program in Work Division District No. 2 from 1934-35 in the state of Washington’s King, Kitsap, Clallam, and Jefferson Counties. It’s a wonderful and amazing record of the program and how it worked here.
Locally, "[a]pproximately 75% of the relief problem centers in Seattle and its suburbs. The relief situation has come about through a decline in activity in logging and lumbering and secondary occupations connected therewith, and in the decline of the railroad business and shipping as a result of world-wide economic disturbances. (4)"
A page describing the philosophy and decrying the lack of diversity in the recipients. Image source: WERA Scrapbook, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives.
The CWA and WERA programs were based on philosophies that made it clear that the worker was to be given suitable work or job training, lifted up from unemployment with pride intact, and that the worker would rather work than take relief payments while unemployed:
It became clear that as long as a man could be reasonably comfortable on relief, incentive to individual efforts toward employment would not be marked. The problem has been to so shape work relief policy that it is stimulated in individual effort, rekindled ambition, and tended to avoid a growth and continuance of dependence upon relief (5).
This was all part of the program of keeping our men and women at work under conditions closely approaching those prevailing to private industry. The American worker enjoys the rhythm of his operation. All successful projects were characterized by the vitality of good objectives and the rhythm which grew out of carefully planned work organization (6).
Though mostly concerned with unemployed men, women were also a part of the WERA program. Image source: WERA Scrapbook, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives.
List of things sewn and distributed through WERA during the period of April 1934 to July 1935. Image source: WERA Scrapbook, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives.
Notes
1. Rebecca M. Kulik, "Civil Works Administration," Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Mar. 2024, www.britannica.com/topic/Civil-Works-Administration.
2. Kulik.
3. "Civil Works Administration." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 16 Aug. 2024. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Works_Administration.
4. WERA Scrapbook, Washington Emergency Relief Administration, Division 2 Works Projects Summaries, 1934-1935, Washington State Archives, Digital Archives, digitalarchives.wa.gov/Scrapbook/Index/2862.
5. WERA Scrapbook.
6. WERA Scrapbook.