City of Columbia Fire Department Headquarters
1001 Senate St.

Though Historic Columbia has saved several nineteenth-century buildings, it is becoming increasingly important to turn our attention to twentieth-century structures as well. The Fire Department Headquarters was constructed ca. 1950-1951, with a drill tower erected ca. 1952-1954, and served the city of Columbia until 1996. Since that time the Fire Department has relocated to a newer facility and this building has been vacant.

Quite different from the graceful antebellum architecture of the Hampton Preston or the Robert Mills building, the Fire Department Headquarters is boxy and plain in its modern architecture. On February 23, 1951, the City of Columbia purchased the lot adjacent to their new headquarters at 1001 Senate Street for $15,150. They placed a new drill tower there, which came to be used quite heavily for training firefighters, but both structures are more utilitarian in appearance than aesthetically appealing. Very contemporary for the 1950s, the Fire Department Headquarters is now a dated structure and has been abandoned in favor of a newer, more advanced facility. However, mid-twentieth century buildings are now reaching fifty years of age, allowing them a place on the National Register of Historic Places. Current trends in preservation praise the simple architecture of the 1950s, citing the unique use of materials and shapes as distinct characteristics of the recent past.

Though only half a century old, this building is located in the historic Congaree Vista area, which has undergone dramatic revitalization over the past few years. The Columbia Development Corporation, which has coordinated this positive change, hopes that the building can be saved and adaptively reused. Since the building's fate is currently in the hands of the City Council, preservationists will simply have to await the outcome. The building is not listed locally as a landmark nor is it listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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