City Of Sydney Fire Station
Built In 1888, It Was Designed by James Barnet, The Colonial Architect of the Time.
In 2017, The City Of Sydney Fire Station Marks 130 Years Of Uninterrupted Operation.
The Original Building Was Designed By James Barnet,
The Victorian Free Classical Style Of the Original 1887 Building Was based On The Operational Experience Of The London Metropolitan Fire Brigade, And Considered Innovative For Its Time
In The Rear Courtyard, Behind Three Engine Bays With Direct Access To the Street, Was A Small Stable. Harness And Sway Bars For The Horses Were Suspended Over Each Horse By Weights Running Into Tubes, These Were Tripped When the Collar Was Snapped To, And The Horses Moved Into The Engine Bay.
From Dusk Till Dawn, Junior Firefighters Spent Three Hours At A time Fire Spotting Duty On A 20 Metre Tower (Called The Pigeon box)
In 1907 The Building Was Extended Along Castlereagh Street North. In 1923 The Old Boot Factory Next Door Was Converted into A Gym, Carpentry Workshop And Dormitory. In The Same Year, As Sydney Boomed In The Roaring 20's The Ground Floor Was Converted With Two New Engine Bays To house A Magnificent Chromed Fleet Of New Motorised Fire Engines.
Despite Urgent Calls in 1934 For A Bigger Fire Station, It Wasn't Until 1999, That An Application Was Finally Approved To Refurbish And Re Use This Site. By 2003, The New Station Was Completed, But The Planned Full Conservation And Restoration Of It’s 1887 Presecessor Was Not.
In May 2017, Funds Were Finally Allocated For The Completion If The Conservation And Restoration Works. This Will Take Place Over 3 Years, Beginning In Late 2017
