Fire Alarm Building
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Architect: Smith & Senter (Frederick V. Kershner
Year Completed: 1931
Location: 1010 E. 8th Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Style: PWA Moderne / Art Deco
The Tulsa Fire Alarm Building was the central dispatching point for all Tulsa fire stations and it's a good example of PWA Moderne, a style of Art Deco architecture.
PWA Moderne is typically found in public buildings built by WPA labour during the depression as part of the PWA program.
The first two pictures above show the Fire Alarm Building from the front. You can see the terra cotta detail above the door as well as around the building. The building is surrounded by a chain-link fence because it was being renovated at the time, but it has finally re-opened after a major restoration!
The third picture above shows detail of the area above the front door to the Fire Alarm Building. The terra cotta decoration is very nicely done. The man in the center is accepting Gamewell alarm tapes from all over the city instructing him to where he needs to dispatch firemen. To either side of him are the firemen ready to go fight fires. Take note of the lightning bolts around the firemen, a symbol often found in Art Deco architecture.
The fourth picture above shows the cornerstone. You can make out "Fire Alarm Building" on the left and the "Erected 1931" on the right.
The American Lung Association of Oklahoma purchased the building in 2000 and is currently raising funds to renovate it as the Lung Science and Research Center. The association is going to restore the original building as well as add new construction to the east (left) side of the building.
I am looking forward to seeing this building again now that it has been restored. It is my favourite Art Deco building in Tulsa and one that sat in disrepair like this for many years.