Fire Station #6

Placed on National Register of Historic Places

On October 2, 2020, the National Parks Service considered the nomination of Fire Station No. 6, and officially listed the building on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review (KHBR) officially approved this nomination on August 1, 2020 for inclusion of the Register of Historic Kansas Places.

Fire Station #6 – 2020

Fire Station #6 – 1945

Fire Station No. 6 is located at 1419 NE Seward Avenue in the Oakland Neighborhood of Topeka. Designed by W. E. Glover of the Topeka architectural firm of Cuthbert and Suehrk, this 1 ½ story structure was designed to serve as a single-engine fire station. This station was constructed in 1935 through Works Progress Administration to service the growing Oakland neighborhood, and the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad yards, located just a few blocks to the west and south. The Collegiate Gothic architectural style of this station reflects a common choice of architecture for public buildings during the early-to-middle decades of the 20th Century. Funding for this station was further enabled through a public bond approved by voters in 1926, specifically intended to provide fire services to newly annexed and growing areas within the City of Topeka.

Station No. 6 shares an identical floorplan and similar architectural features to two other fire stations in Topeka, those being Fire Station No. 5 at the southwest corner of SW 17th Street and SW Topeka Blvd., and Fire Station No. 7 at 1215 SW Oakley St. All three Stations were WPA projects, and all were designed by the same architectural firm of Cuthbert and Suehrk. All three stations are also excellent examples of the transition of the design of the American fire station to a smaller, more residential form, known as the “bungalow” fire house.  One additional nomination for Fire Station No. 1 will be heard by the Kansas Historic Sites Board of Review on November 7, 2020.