| Lower Hutt Central Fire Station | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fire station |
| Architectural style | Post-Warmodernist |
| Location | 155 Waterloo Road,Lower Hutt, New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 41°12′37″S174°54′57″E / 41.21014°S 174.91583°E /-41.21014; 174.91583 |
| Completed | 1955 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Mitchell & Mitchell & Partners King, Cook & Dawson |
| Designated | 30-April-2010 |
| Reference no. | 9319 |
Lower Hutt Central Fire Station is a formerfire station inLower Hutt, New Zealand. When it was built in 1955 it was considered to be one of the most modern fire stations in thesouthern hemisphere.[1]
The fire station is strongly influenced by the work of architectFrank Lloyd Wright. It was designed to represent a post war, modern city, with expanding industry andstate housing projects.[2]
The building along with theLower Hutt town hall,civic administration building andwar memorial library saw the city become a symbol of post-warmodernist construction during the 1950s.[3]
When the station first opened it included such features as a control room where the fire engines could be started and stopped remotely, and the appliance doors could open automatically. It was the first fire station in New Zealand to have the technology to record calls.[2]
In the mid-2000s, the New Zealand Fire Service reviewed its coverage of Lower Hutt. On 15 January 2007, the station closed along with fire stations atPetone andPoint Howard, with crews and engines split between three new stations atAlicetown,Avalon andSeaview. These three career stations are backed up by volunteer brigades atStokes Valley,Wainuiomata andEastbourne.
Since then, the building has been unoccupied and suffered from vandalism. In 2010 the station was officially protected from demolition by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (since renamed toHeritage New Zealand).[3]
The station was purchased by property developer Mike Friday in November 2015, who is planning to renovate the station into apartments.[4]
Media related toLower Hutt Central Fire Station at Wikimedia Commons
