The Bell Tolls for Former Fire Station

It was kind of sad to drive by the former Lorain Fire Station No. 7 at the corner of Meister and Leavitt Roads and see it being torn down last week.

Why? For a couple of reasons.

While growing up on E. Skyline Drive in the 1960s and 70s, I always thought it was rather comforting to know that a fire station was only a couple minutes away. We could see it from our house. Of course, much later the station was moved over to W. 21st Street, and the building became part of the Lorain Police Dept. The police moved out a few years ago and since then the empty building has literally began to fall apart – necessitating its demolition.

But another reason to feel a little bad about the building is that it was it was the West Side's last link to its days before it became part of Lorain.

Back in the latter part of the 1800s, that corner was the location of a one-room schoolhouse that served Black River Township. After the school closed, the little red brick building was repurposed as the original administration building for Port Mills Airport in 1929.

But as the 1940s began, the corner of Meister and Leavitt Roads was going to be the location of a brand new Black River Township garage – and the former school would have to go. Bids for the new building appeared in the Lorain Journal in September that year.

By the end of November 1940, the contract had been awarded and the garage was under construction.

Nov. 23, 1940

With the purchase of new fire equipment, the garage – which opened in April 1941 – became a fire station.

As Lorain grew in the following years, and annexed township land, the Black River Township fire station found itself in a strange position. It was located in Lorain, but could not legally put out fires in that city. It was one of the reasons that the existence of Black River Township didn't really make any sense any more.

Black River Township fire station circa 1964

Black River Township fire station circa 1964

I wrote about this odd situation in my series on the End of Black River Township (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).

Anyway, at the end of July 1964, the Black River Township fire station was officially taken over by the City of Lorain.

July 31, 1964

But with Leavitt Road about to be widened from two lanes to four, the small white frame house seen in the photos above – where the firemen slept when not on duty – had to go. But the State of Ohio was a little stingy in its offer to buy it from the city. 

Oct. 22, 1964

It took a little while, but the state and Lorain finally agreed upon a price.

Nov. 13, 1964

But now the firemen at No. 7 needed a place to sleep – so an addition to the station was built.

May 25, 1965

The station became a familiar, reassuring site on Lorain's West Side with the latest in equipment.

But all good things come to an end, and with Lorain rapidly expanding in population on the West Side, it made sense to move the station over to the city complex on W. 21st Street. The former No. 7 fire station became a storage facility for the Lorain Police.

But after the police moved out, the building went into further disrepair. A storm severely damaged the front left corner of the building facing Meister Road, and it was obvious it had to go, as it had become a safety hazard. Demolition occurred last week.

Now the site just needs to be cleared. But the history remains.