Tulsa Architect Gives 90-Year-Old Fire Station New Facelift

An Oklahoma fire station has been sitting vacant for more than 20 years, but it now has a new look and a new lease on life.

Old Tulsa Fire Station Number 8, at 14th and Trenton has been repurposed by two local creative businessmen.

The building may look a little different than it did back in 1925 when it was built, but that is a little deceiving because anything and everything, from the rafters to the bricks, that could be saved has been.

"This is a fireman's dream, to take an old fire station and renovate it and make it a living area or a work area, so they've done a great job. It's just magnificent," one person said.

The 90 year old, newly re-done fire station is the brain child of local Architect James Boswell - known for his work with the recent renovation on Cain's Ballroom - and it's a project that's been on his mind for a while.

"I've seen this building for 12, 15 years, driving by it, just thought it would be a really cool architectural office," he said.

It's been 12 to 15 years of dreaming and around four years of hard work to get it where it is today, a fully operational office space housing Boswell's architecture firm in the old fire truck bay.

Upstairs is Station 8 Branding, a local advertising and marketing company owned by David Clark.

The hard work has been a labor of love for both, paying close attention to keeping the architectural details in tact - mixing the old with the new.

It's something firefighters who remember the life the station once had are thankful for.

"There is so much tradition in the fire service in general that when people take the opportunity to preserve a little bit of our past, especially Tulsa's fire department past, we really appreciate that," said Deputy Chief Dale Cooley.

For Boswell, that's a job well done.

"Really proud, very proud," he said. "We're proud of every project we do, but this one in particular."

"To see someone refurb instead of tearing it down, it's a great thing."

Boswell also said he hopes other business owners are inspired by the project and consider giving other old historic buildings in Tulsa a chance to continue their legacy in the future.