151 1000 Cherry Street (formerly listed as 705 Texas Street) [NR], Central Fire Station No.2 and Fire Alarm Signal Station, 1930; 1985. This fire station was built in 1930 to replace the old 1899 Central Fire Station once located where the Public Safety and Courts Building (CBD 159) now stands. Herman Paul Koeppe, chief designer for the Wyatt C. Hedrick architectural firm, designed the new station building which was erected by contractor R.E Ball. The fire station complex actually consists of two buildings, the station itself and a smaller Fire Alarm Signal Station to the west at the corner of Texas and Macon streets. Both buildings are remarkable examples of Zigzag Moderne design, intended as both civic ornament as well as to house essential municipal services. Distinguished by its careful massing, the complex is constructed of reinforced concrete and clad in buff-colored Acme brick. The Zigzag Moderne styling is evident in the recessed window panels, terra cotta trim, and brick pilasters that are capped by cast-stone chevrons, creating a continuous zigzag frieze and parapet. Decorative brickwork and a well-proportioned 70-foot siren tower also distinguish the buildings. The original double-hung wood sash windows in the Fire Alarm Signal Station were replaced in 1985 by metal windows. Interior renovations through the years have altered or removed many original features in the station complex. The nineteenth-century fire bell on display next to the station’s main entrance was used at two previous central fire stations. The wooden yoke supporting the bell is made from timbers taken when the old 1899 station was demolished in 1938. The Central Fire Station No.2 complex appears to be eligible for the National Register as a work of civic architecture pending an assessment of its architectural integrity.
