The Street Seen: Venice Fire House
213 Rose Ave @ Main (Venice)
The Firehouse Restaurant, on the North East Corner of Main and Rose, occupies a former Venice fire house at this location whose exterior is little changed from its 1906 construction.
In 1904 unincorporated Los Angeles County south of Santa Monica votes to form the City of Ocean Park.1 The new city has to quickly acquire the services required of a city - police, fire, sewers, etc. In January 1905 a bond issue for $5,000 for fire equipment gets the fire department started. In October 1906 a bond issue for $10,000 provides funds for a proper fire house and fire fighting equipment. The Board of Trustees appoints W.G. Lang (1855 – 1942) fire chief.2
Built on the corner of Rose and Min in 1906 for $6,000, the firehouse is a 2-story wooden structure with a bell tower and a stable for the horses that pull the fire wagons. The property is also the city street yards, and the horses are primarily used for street cleaning and garbage collection. City employees care for the horses, and ring the bell to summon the volunteer firemen when a fire breaks out. There are no paid fire employees - all volunteers.
The early years of the City of Ocean Park are turbulent - there are police and fire scandals, and the Board of Trustees fights with Kinney.3
In 1911, the first motorized engine, a two-cylinder Buick, is acquired. A second fire station is opened at 17th Avenue & Speedway.4 In 1912, this new station becomes Venice Fire Station No. 1, and the Rose Avenue station is relegated to Venice Fire Station No. 2.
By 1916 the Venice Fire Department consisted of three firemen, a ladder truck, and an American-La France fire engine that holds 350 gallons of water.
When Venice is annexed into the City of Los Angeles in 1925,5 the Rose Avenue fire station becomes LAFD Fire Engine House No. 62. The City of Los Angeles replaces the old fire engines with three “modern” ones: a 1918 hose-wagon, a 1923 1,000 gallon capacity American-La France engine, and a 1920 Seagreave relief pump and hose carrier. These three machines are used until 1950, when Engine Co. No. 62 moves into its new Mar Vista Fire Station 62 (3631 Centinela Ave).
In 1950, the Rose Avenue fire house is vacant and boarded up. In 1954 the City-owned Rose Ave property is sold at auction. In the years that follow, the building houses several different entities including an antique store, an art studio, and a lingerie shop.
In 1986, Naresh Mehta6 and Leiko Hamada7 transform the building into the Firehouse Restaurant. With its hearty breakfasts, the restaurant initially caters to bodybuilders who work out nearby, but it soon becomes popular with locals and tourists.
The City of Ocean Park, adjacent to and south of Santa Monica, exists from 1904 until 1911, when the name is changed to the City of Venice. In 1925 Venice is annexed to the City of Los Angeles.
William Gustive Lang (1855 – 1942) from Portland, OR is appointed fire chief - an unpaid position. He also holds several other city positions – city electrician, plumber, fire marshal, building inspector, street inspector, etc. The volunteer firemen, who also work for Kinney, are opposed to this Portland import. They accuse Lang of stealing the proceeds ($ 311.75) from the fireman’s ball, and “deserting a wife in Portland, and lavishing his affections on a pearl of the beach.” Lang is arrested and resigns in April 1906, and the matter is dropped. George Albert Hubbard (1872 – 1931) is fire chief from 1907 to 1925.
The first Board of Trustees is aligned with the interests of Kinney’s former partners A.R. Fraser and G.M. Jones, who have property near Marine. Kinney’s Venice of America is further south - the Kinney Pier is at Windward. To protect his interests, Kinney has a private police force and a private fire department (using a high-pressure salt water system). In 1908 Kinney’s slate gains control of the Board of Trustees.
The Rose Avenue fire station is close to the Fraser piers at Marine & Pier. In 1911 Venice Fire Station No. 1 is formed at the skating rink at 17th Avenue (Lorelei) & Pacific (Trolleyway). In 1912 this fire station moves to a new 2-story brick building at 17th & Speedway, close to the Kinney Pier.
With annexation by Los Angeles, the City of Venice ceases to exist. Venice city records are transferred to Los Angeles - many are lost (or misfiled). Venice employees become Los Angeles employees - questions of pay and seniority cause friction.
Naresh Mehta seems to have owned the property since 1978. Westside restauranteur Mehta also owned the Rose Cafe.
Artist and restauranteur Leiko Hamada opens a restaurant with Bruce Marder in 1978, and opens Restaurant Hamada (213 Windward) in 1980. In 1986 she has the Rose Ave building painted fire engine red.