Old Fire Station No. 2 could have fanned the flames of glorious reminiscing had it been demolished last year.
And after a main wall fell two years ago, it nearly was taken down.
But today it stands strong and sturdy at 13th Street and Hutchins Avenue, looking like part firehouse and part firestarter for restoration and new beginnings. It became the trendy, eye-catching, 6,400-square-foot home of three United Way of Bartholomew County agencies a few months ago.
And the 110-year-old formerly abandoned structure that nearly attracted a wrecking ball looks to have a long life ahead of it still, thanks to at least a dozen different firms, agencies, and organizations whose work made the rebirth possible.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Tenants are United Way of Bartholomew County, which directs 21 agencies that reach about one-third of Bartholomew County residents annually; United Way 2-1-1, the information and referral agency that directs many for help to the local nonprofits; and the Volunteer Action Center, which helps plug in selfless-minded residents into a range of community tasks, from mentoring to office work.
United Way President Mark Stewart said it seems fitting that the local nonprofit that often leads the community pushing against the toughest local challenges — poverty, educational struggles and more — should now be housed in a building that has made it through a few hurdles itself.
In many ways in its 52-year local history, United Way has helped build and rebuild lives, from youngsters maturing via athletic activities to retirees establishing themselves anew in community involvement.
“People coming here to this building are doing special things — either they have challenges they’re overcoming, or they’re trying to help people overcome challenges,” Stewart said. “So we like the idea of providing a special place for all these people doing special things.”
This special place cost a stewardly $415,000 — covered via a monthly mortgage — since all the interior demolition work was done by volunteers. Plus, companies such as Kenny Glass Inc. provided all the glass — including that which was used on the oversized, fire station bay-style windows in the front — for free.
Those doors were originally installed to allow horses to pull fire engines out of the building — the horses were housed in a stable behind the building at one time, Stewart said.
“I think it looks great,” Stewart said. “But it’s actually a very modest building.”
Figure in actual pay for gutting and glass work and Stewart estimates the price tag might have reached $700,000.
The Mission Columbus group that helped build the local Brighter Days emergency housing shelter, and also involved in rebuilding area homes and more, was among those assisting with the interior demolition for three months. Member Steve Ferdon knew what rough shape the structure was in. He, like others, had seen the building that the Doug Otto Center (across 13th Street) owned for years slowly deteriorate.
“But I never fully imagined that it would turn out quite like that,” Ferdon said. “It’s really amazing what all can be done.”
Michael Clark, architectural designer and project manager at Dunlap & Company Construction, coordinated the overall effort as general contractor, working alongside retired contractor and United Way board member Chuck Corbin.
“I was excited to try to bring back some of the building’s old characteristics,” Clark said.
So a replacement fire pole stands where the original one did between the upstairs and downstairs in 1909 in the fire station. And what looks like fire station doors across the front are now the frame for a modern conference room with wheel-away tables. And that all-glass front facing 13th Street serves as a symbol, too.
“We want to be open and transparent,” Stewart said.
The exposed interior brick and the original tin ceiling speak of bygone days of when the building served as a fire station. Visitors who stop along the east wall of the building off Hutchins Avenue will find a place where firefighters of yesteryear etched their name in brick, said Capt. Mike Wilson, Columbus Fire Department spokesman.
And the message painted on the conference room wall speaks of the mission of United Way: “We envision a community where every child is supported in and outside the classroom, every family has their basic needs met and every person leads a stable, successful life.”
And what better structure to quickly and efficiently mobilize people for the sake of others than a former fire station? Stewart mentioned that his former job in neighborhood revitalization with the Indianapolis-based nonprofit Southeast Neighborhood Development Inc. prepared him well for projects such as this.
“In my perspective, doing a renovation when you can is always better than a new building,” Stewart said. “You save money, you save resources and you save history.
“And there’s also the added perspective of what saving this restored building means for the neighborhood. It just lifts the spirit,” he said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”United Way office by the numbers” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
3
Agencies housed
12
Firms or groups on the renovation
$415,000
Total project cost
[sc:pullout-text-end]
