The building committee for Fire Station No. 4 requested an ordinary building that was easy to maintain. The plan is simple — almost equal space is given to the apparatus room on the right and storage-living quarters on the left. By placing the required hose tower in the front and making it semi-circular, it is absorbed into the facade, giving a monumentality to the otherwise small building and reflecting its civic importance. Because the dormitory is lower than the apparatus room, a parapet is applied to the facade to simplify the front and enhance the scale. The facade is predominantly white-glazed brick that interlocks in a pattern with the plain red brick of the sides and wraps around the corner. The white brick, the gold lettering at the top of the tower identifying the station, the tower itself, and the big flagpole in the middle of the front lawn all contribute to the building’s civic statement.

This crisp, functional building creates an appropriately ordinary, yet distinctive, image for the rescue and social activities associated with a community fire station.