The Old Plaza Fire House was commissioned in 1884 by the city of Los Angeles and designed by William Boring, who received $160.75 for his architectural drawings in one of the earliest documented architect fees in LA history. Built to serve the "Volunteer 38s" Engine Company #1, this Victorian Italianate brick firehouse followed an Illinois design standard that assumed horses would need indoor stabling during harsh winters, despite Southern California's mild climate reflecting the city's Midwestern influences during rapid Americanization.
The two-story brick structure features Victorian-era ornamentation and houses several ingenious space-saving innovations. A large wooden floor turntable on the ground level allowed horse-drawn fire wagons to rotate without backing the animals out, while harnesses suspended from the ceiling could be quickly lowered onto horses when alarms sounded. Firefighters descended via brass pole from their upstairs quarters, and the building's compact urban footprint maximized efficiency for the volunteer company's rapid response needs.
