Calgary aims to find new purpose for downtown landmark Fire Hall No. 1

The City of Calgary is looking for a new use for one of its most prominent historical buildings.

The former Fire Hall No. 1 has been a part of Sixth Avenue downtown since 1911.

After spending 62 years as a working fire hall, the structure was home to a car rental company for more than 30 years.

That era came to an end last fall when the company moved out, choosing to not renew its lease.

The historic hall now sits empty. CBC News recently had a chance to tour the facility and see areas that were off view to the public since the 1980s.

The city fully intends to find another use for the building, which has protected provincial and municipal heritage status.

The acting manager of facility planning for the city, Ryan Meier, said the city is looking at both short and long-term uses for the building.

"One of the things that needs to be done is a heritage assessment," said Meier. "We're looking at all of the heritage elements and what needs to be done to restore the building and various elements of it."

The city hasn't decided if it might find a use for some or all of the building. But if not, after some restoration work is done, the 'for lease' sign would go up again for another tenant.

It's not that the building needs a complete restoration.

"It's in fair condition. There's some work that needs to be done, things like some interior work and some work on the exterior brick," said Meier.

"This is a beautiful building. It's a great representation of our heritage assets within the city."

It's a two-storey, Edwardian-style, brick and sandstone building. Unlike most downtown buildings, it sits at a 45 degree angle to the street corner in front of it.

A tour reveals some of the key elements of the building's fire station history.

There's the brass fire pole in the lobby that presumably, firefighters slid down from the upstairs offices and living spaces to get to their trucks.

There's a five-storey tower, where they used to hang fire hoses to dry.

One of the building's more unusual elements is hidden away in a room in the basement.

There are 11 murals painted on the walls of windowless space. 

The images include the Rocky Mountains and some scenic views of what looks like Scotland.

 While the artist isn't known, there's a thought that they were done decades ago by a firefighter with time to spare.

"We don't know a lot about them," said Meier. But a preservation plan will be developed to ensure they're around for the future.

The city councillor for this part of downtown doesn't want the site to sit idle any longer than is necessary.

Druh Farrell envisions perhaps a brew pub or a firefighter's museum could find a home there.

She said the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation is working with the city on potential future plans.

"We're hoping that private industry will be interested in doing something with it," said Farrell. 

"It was a similar conversation that we had with the Simmons building [in East Village]. With the fire hall, it could be a really special place. The building is beautiful. It needs some TLC." 

The city hopes to have answers later this year about the work that needs to be done and then make the repairs.

Until the work is completed, the building will remain closed.