Monte Vista Fire Station

The Monte Vista Fire Station is located on Central Avenue east of the University of New Mexico in an area of Albuquerque that was developed just before and after World War II. The Station is a perfectly preserved example of Pueblo Revival style architecture. Staggered massing, completely original detailing and unique wheel mounted station doors all contribute to the buildings period appearance.The station was built out of hollow block and covered with stucco. The buildings massing is dominated by a large three story tower that occupies the SE corner of the property and unifies the structure. the tower includes vertically staggered windows that follow interior stairs leading from the street level engine room to the second story lounge and office and finally to the third floor. A shaft runs from grade to the third floor ceiling where hoses were hung to dry after being washed. A vertically mounted sliding pole is still in position connecting the fireman's lounge with the downstairs truck so that firefighters could be in their vehicle and out the door as fast as possible. The original 14 foot multi-light station doors are unaltered and include their original overhead operating hardware. Large metal wheels allowed the doors to fold open quickly and relatively effortlessly in the event of an alarm. All of the windows are originally 6/6 double hung wood sash and are framed by massive lintels including in some cases tympanum and corbels. The exposed decorative vigas are all intact and combine with timber ladders on the first and second story roofs and an undulating parapet on the second story to give the station it's typical Pueblo Revival effect.Originally the Monte Vista Fire Station was designed for a pumper truck only and a complement of five men. In 1952, the building was sympathetically remodeled to accommodate a longer ladder truck and a conforming block addition was attached to the rear of the building. The hollow tile block in the original structure were manufactured by Kinney Brick of Albuquerque and all the original timber was cut by local labor in the Sandia Mountains and milled in the city. A kitchen was built in the rear of the first floor after the station was sold and converted into an art related business. The original 1946 dedication plaque was removed and mounted in the engine room of the University campus fire station, the Monte Vista Station's replacement. One of the finest examples of pure Pueblo Revival architecture in Albuquerque, the Monte Vista Fire Station was built under the auspices of the WPA in 1936 and has been a city landmark since that time. Its detailing and proportions are original and striking. Monte Vista is an unusual example of Pueblo Revival style applied to a public non-residential facility and certainly the only fire station of its kind in the country. The enlargement of the structure in 1952 in no way detracts from it's stylistic integrity. (Historically the station dates to a time when the city was beginning its enormous eastward expansion and it represents a stylish solution to what otherwise would have been just an ordinary city building. This was due in large measure to the fact that the station was designed by the city's architect at the time, E.H. Blumenthal, who also designed Highland High School as well as the similarly styled old Albuquerque Airport Terminal.)The Station was originally at the city's eastern extremity. Within 15 years after world war II housing and commercial properties filled in around the station, the building was remodeled to house the Fire Department's longer ladder trucks, and the stations crew rose to ten men including the district chief's office. Kept in immaculate condition over the years by the Fire Department the station went through few alterations except for the installation of a new boiler in 1970. In 1972, the station was put up for sale when the newer and wider trucks could no longer negotiate the Monte Vista's old doors. It was sold to Yale Reality and later bought by Mel Ruckhaus. in 1974 it was sold to Dick and Doris Lusk. It has been used as an art gallery, a lithographic studio and most recently as a film production facility.