{"nrhp_refnum":"09000148","name":"Fire Station No. 30-Engine Company No. 30","other_names":["The African American Firefighter Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1401 S. Central Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Los Angeles","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.02840589700003,"lon":-118.24726323099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-03-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story stucco-sheathed masonry fire station with a small rear Cook's House, at 1401 South Central Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, built in 1913 by James Backus, Superintendent of Building for the City of Los Angeles.","why_significant":"It is significant under Criterion A as one of two segregated fire stations in Los Angeles. From 1924 all of the city's black firefighters were assigned there, making it a symbol of both racial segregation and community pride until the department was integrated in 1956. The Keeper revised the period of significance to 1924-1956.","narrative":"Fire Station #30 is a two-story masonry fire station at 1401 South Central Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, completed in 1913 along with a small Cook's House and a perimeter wall. Its Central Avenue and 14th Street facades carry pilasters, bracketed cornices and tall windows, and a small crenellated tower marks the northeast corner. In 1924 the fire department assigned all of its black firefighters to this station under Lieutenant George Bright, after white crews were removed amid threats of a strike. It became one of two all-black stations in the city, a source of community pride that also reflected racial segregation. Promotion for black firefighters stopped at captain until the department integrated fully in 1956. The building was abandoned and badly damaged by an arson fire in 1985, then rehabilitated from 1995 to 1997 to house the African American Firefighter Museum. Its listing recognizes this role in the city's African American history.","period_of_significance":"1924-1956 (revised by the Keeper from the nominated 1913-1956)","architect_builder":"Backus, James, Superintendent of Building, City of Los Angeles","architectural_style":"Late 19th & Early 20th Century American Movements - Prairie School","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Rehabilitated 1995-1997 and now used as the African American Firefighter Museum; it had been abandoned and damaged by arson fire in 1985.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.591368-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/09000148.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000148/24b67eb0aa-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000148/24b67eb0aa-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cbl62","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fire_Station_No._30_(African_American_Firefighters_Museum).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cbl62</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_No._30_(African_American_Firefighters_Museum).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857465","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Station_No._30,_Engine_Company_No._30","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5451472"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/fire-station-no-30-engine-company-no-30-09000148/"}