A century ago today, Los Angeles Fire Station 23, more commonly known as the interior location for the Ghostbusters’ Firehouse officially went into operation to serve the greater Los Angeles area.
Although marred with controversy and criticism by those in the public and press from the offset (for info on this, please stop by LAFire.com’s article on Firestation 23), the building has managed to survive the wrecking ball, even though it closed it’s doors from service in 1960.
Since it retired, it has been frequently used as a filming location, appearing in large and small parts in a multitude of films and TV series for 40 years, and although the station is now showing it’s age, the grandeur of it’s former state is still there.
And, you may have a chance to see it, if you have the free time and the travel options. On October 23rd, the Community Unity Festival in partnership with the Corporation for History, Art & Culture will be marking the centennial of Fire Station 23, with the strong liklihood that the station will be opened up for the occassion.
For those interested, it’s worth keeping check of sites like The CHAC.net and other community/events pages in the Los Angeles area for more information that may become available.
Although faded, the building still has a lot of it’s original features.
The lavish fittings aren’t quite so surprising when you read that the place became, for a time, the residence of the Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Another little known fact: LA23 is one of the first buildings to use concrete as it’s method of construction in L.A.
