Artifacts from 1954 Fremont fire station up for grabs
Since no one bit on its $1 asking price, Fremont’s historic Fire Station No. 6, alas, will be demolished. But not before sharp-eyed collectors get a shot at scooping up some unique salvage items — like a wrought iron fire alarm bell — for free.
Before developer SiliconSage Builders razes the old Centerville firehouse and surrounding buildings to make way for new apartments, shops and townhomes, it is required by the city to offer up “salvageable materials” inside the station — including some “that may be deemed as historic” — to the public for free through June 25.
The developer bought the building from Fremont last year after the council agreed to its demolition. It was offered for sale to the public for 60 days this year for $1, plus the likely large costs of moving the 1954 concrete block masonry building to another location. But there were no takers. Hence, the plans for demolition will go forth, and the vintage pieces are up for grabs.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people may not visit the fire station to pick out materials, the city said.
Instead, the city has posted a link on its website where people can view pictures of some “selected artifacts,” including an elevator switch plate, wrought iron alarm bells and an intercom call box.
“If you are interested in any of them, please reach out to SiliconSage Builders. Once the shelter-in-place order is lifted, you will be able to visit the fire station and take the material. Salvageable material will be given on the first-come, first-served basis,” the city’s website said.
People who enter the firehouse to remove materials “must bring their own tools or equipment and proceed at their own risk,” the city said.
A 2007 historical study determined that the Centerville fire station, decommissioned in 2008, qualified for the California Register because of its architectural significance.
The council in late 2017 suggested that the firehouse be preserved by the developer for public use.
However, it later reversed that decision after a consultant concluded that the SiliconSage development around the station would “result in a substantial adverse change” to its architectural significance because the low-slung buildings around it would be removed.
Shaivali Desai of SiliconSage said the company plans to create a wall inside one of the spaces of the new development to pay homage to the station, and it will use some bricks from the station’s facade, a regional map, one of the alarm bells and a metal address plate in that space.
The remaining several items are up for grabs to the public.
Despite SiliconSage staff mentioning last year at a council hearing that it also would include the firepole from the station in the homage area, city officials said Thursday that there apparently never was a pole in the fire station.
SiliconSage plans to build 93 apartments with 26,000 square feet of ground-floor retail across several buildings on the northeast side of Fremont Boulevard, between Parish Avenue and Peralta Boulevard, as well as 72 threestory townhouses on Jason Way to the east.
The city said that anyone interested in removing materials from the fire station building should call Shaivali Desai of SiliconSage Builders at 408630-0923 or send an email to Shaivali@siliconsage.com.