Fire Station #8 a WPA gem on Bluxome Street

36 Bluxome Street
SOMA
South of the Slot

Fire Station Number 8 was built in 1939 as a result of the WPA

The San Francisco Fire Department was a big beneficiary of W.P.A. The Department’s 1974 Historical Review noted, “One of the few advances made by the Department in these lean years resulted from the formation of the Works Project Administration. As a result of this program several of the Department buildings were remodeled, new heating and plumbing facilities installed, and much necessary maintenance accomplished.”

Assistant City Engineer Clyde E. Healy’s December, 1939, report notes repairs to no less than forty-one Fire Department locations throughout the city, including the construction of a new fire house at 38 Bluxome Street.

The October 20, 1938, Project Proposal informs, “The present fire house at this location was built in 1907, as a temporary structure. W.P.A. will start razing this building on October 10th and this proposal is for a new modern fire house on the same site.”

For those unfamiliar with Bluxome Street  it is a small alley south of Market between Fourth and Fifth streets. Should a fire-related emergency ever occur at Pac Bell Park, firefighters from the Bluxome station would be the first on the scene.

 

The day I was there the firetruck was parked outside and I was able to get a few fun photos.  Sadly, I can tell you nothing about the logo.

When public transit was still dominated by cable cars, The Slot was the iron track that went through the center of Market Street where the cables operated.

According to a short story from Jack London at the time, “North of the Slot were the theaters, hotels, and shopping district, the banks and the staid, respectable business houses. South of the Slot were the factories, slums, laundries, machine-shops, boiler works, and the abodes of the working class.”

“South of The Slot” became a euphemism for the, shall we say, seedier parts of the area. It also became a class divider, as in “that guy’s from the south of the slot.” The 1906 Earthquake and Fire destroyed the area, burning through the wooden hotels, boarding houses, and flats. Over time, as the area was redeveloped, the nickname slowly disappeared, and now we all call it SOMA.

 

Bluxome Street was named for Isaac G. Bluxome.  He was a successful business man of his time, and sat on the California State Board of Mineralogists.  He died at the age of 60 (or 61) in 1890.