This stunning view of Manchester’s Old Fire Station caught my eye from a moving train leaving Piccadilly Station. What looks like a fairytale tower was in fact built in 1906 for drying fire hoses. In addition to a fire station, the building also included a police station, an ambulance station, a bank, a coroner's court, and a gas-meter testing station. It housed the firemen, their families, and the horse-drawn appliances that were replaced by motorised vehicles a few years after its opening.
Original oil on canvas by Malcolm Lucas
This stunning view of Manchester’s Old Fire Station caught my eye from a moving train leaving Piccadilly Station. What looks like a fairytale tower was in fact built in 1906 for drying fire hoses. In addition to a fire station, the building also included a police station, an ambulance station, a bank, a coroner's court, and a gas-meter testing station. It housed the firemen, their families, and the horse-drawn appliances that were replaced by motorised vehicles a few years after its opening.