{"nrhp_refnum":"00000336","name":"Fire Station Number 4","other_names":["Merrimon Avenue Fire Station"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"300 Merrimon Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Asheville","county":"Buncombe County","state":"NC","lat":35.60897219800006,"lon":-82.55455970199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-04-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Fire Station Number 4, also called the Merrimon Avenue Fire Station, is a two-story, flat-roof brick building at 300 Merrimon Avenue in Asheville, North Carolina. It was designed by Douglas D. Ellington and built circa 1927.","why_significant":"The station is argued to be an excellent example of an early twentieth-century suburban fire station and the work of architect Douglas D. Ellington, whose Art Deco-influenced designs shaped 1920s Asheville. It also reflects the city's 1920s municipal building campaign to bring services such as fire protection to growing north-side neighborhoods. It served as the department's main training facility for most of the twentieth century.","narrative":"Fire Station Number 4 at 300 Merrimon Avenue in Asheville is a two-story brick building completed circa 1927 to a design by architect Douglas D. Ellington. Its multi-colored brick walls, paired rounded arches over the bay doors, and a feather motif set into the brickwork reflect Ellington's Art Deco-influenced style. A five-story hose and training tower adjoins the rear. The station was built during the city's 1920s municipal building program, which followed the 1922 Asheville City Plan, to give north-side neighborhoods fire protection. An engine company and a hook-and-ladder company were stationed here, and the tower served as the fire department's main training site for most of the century. Its modest scale suited the surrounding residential streets while its ground floor held equipment and the upper floor housed firefighters. Emergency response ended about 1974 because the doors could not admit modern engines. The department returned in 1982, and the building retains its original exterior and largely intact floor plan.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1927-1950","architect_builder":"Ellington, Douglas D.","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Fire department stopped using it for emergency response about 1974; reoccupied by the department in 1982. Arson Task Force offices are on the second floor and the rest is used for storage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:53.49984-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/95/7191/47719195/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/00000336.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000336/dd0300139b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000336/dd0300139b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Karen D. Hoffman","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fire_Station_Number_4,_300_Merrimon_Ave.,_Asheville.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Karen D. Hoffman</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fire_Station_Number_4,_300_Merrimon_Ave.,_Asheville.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719195","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Station_Number_4_(Asheville,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18150071"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/buncombe-county/fire-station-number-4-00000336/"}