Fire Station No. 11

With a stone exterior to match the likes of the Vine Street Workhouse and the Parade Park Maintenance Building, the former Fire Station Number 11 at 2033 Vine St. fits right in with the historical buildings of the area, and has played host to several other important groups throughout the years. Built in 1931 during the Works Progress Administration, the building housed a historically Black fire brigade that served the area until the department was consolidated in 1977. The building was quickly taken over by Horace M. Peterson III. Using a grant from Department of Housing and Urban Development, he established 2033 Vine St. as the first brick and mortar location of the Black Archives of Mid-America. As time went on, the collections housed at the building expanded, eventually prompting the archive to leave the Fire Station and move to their current location at 1722 E 17th Terrace, in what was formerly the Parade Park Maintenance Building. Now, the building houses the Vine Street Studio Art Gallery, one of the many organizations behind the growth that is currently taking place in the area.

The first iteration of the fire company that would eventually occupy 2023 Vine St. was formed in 1890 by Fire Chief George C. Hale. Created as part of a push by the city to modernize and expand upon the volunteer fire department that formed in 1858, Station 11 was the first all-Black fire company in Kansas City. According to the African American History Trail of Kansas City, the company was first stationed in a tent on Independence Avenue near Park Street. Edward S. Baker, Kansas City's first Black firefighter, was assigned to the company as a Supplyman before being promoted to Captain of the company on July 3, 1890. In November of that year, construction finished on more permanent station at 1309 Independence Ave. According to a write-up from the Kansas City Register of Historic Places "This location was in the Lincoln-Coles and Belvidere Hollow areas of Kansas City, which as one of the African American enclaves located throughout the city." (Brooks 4) The station would remain here for the next eighteen years. In 1908, the department was moved to a building at 1812 Vine St. According to the Historic Places document, "This move reflected the growing segregation in the city that moved African-American[s] from areas around the city in[to] an area bounded by Independence Ave on the north, Troost o[n] the West, 27th Street on the South and Cleveland on the East." (Brooks 5)

Station 11 operated out of the 1812 Vine location for twenty-three years before moving to the building at 2023 Vine St. According to the Historic Places Register write-up, the building had been designed by Robin A. Walker and city architect James O'Connor. The building has a limestone exterior, which the documents describe the building as "reflect[ing] elements of the Art Deco style". Quoting a 1931 Kansas City Call article, the write-up says that the new fire station "featured all the modern conveniences; including hot and cold water, showers, a Frigidaire[sic], a kitchen, a pantry, fifteen sanitary lockers with electric lights, a modern hose tower, dry room, captains room, spick and span bunk room, two slide poles and an office." The new station was initially run by Captain J.W. Todd with Lieutenant J.B. Cespedes in charge of the second shift, though Cespedes would go on to become captain after Todd. The documents state that Station 11 served the community from this location until it was disbanded in 1977 as part of a restructuring effort on the part of the Kansas City Fire Department. The building was almost immediately taken over by Horace M. Peterson III, who had secured federal grant money to turn the space into the first brick-and-mortar location for the Black Archives of Mid-America, remodeling several rooms into storage space for Archive materials. However, a combination of factors, including the Archive eventually outgrowing the space, forced the Archive to close the firehouse in 2006 and move into its current location at 1722 E 17th Terrace, with doors opening in 2012.

Since the Archive moved out, Fire Station No. 11 has been occupied by Vine Street Studios, which hosts local artists and creatives.

Brooks, Sharon. "Fire Station No. 11" Kansas City Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form. Historic Preservation Office/Landmarks Commission, Kansas City, MO April 2, 2009.

DelasBour, Leslie. “'It Just Means a Lot to Me': Historical Plaque Honors Station 11, 1st All-Black Fire Station in Kansas City.” KSHB 41 Kansas City News. KSHB 41 Kansas City

KCTV5 Staff. “Historical Marker Erected at Former Station That Housed KC's First All-Black Fire Crew.” https://www.kctv5.com, June 22, 2022. https://www.kctv5.com/2022/06/22/historical-marker-erected-former-station-that-housed-kcs-first-all-Black-fire-crew/. 

KCUR. “Timeline: A Look Back at 40 Years of Kansas City's Black Archives.” KCUR 89.3 - NPR in Kansas City, June 18, 2014. https://www.kcur.org/community/2014-06-17/timeline-a-look-back-at-40-years-of-kansas-citys-Black-archives. 

News, June 22, 2022. https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/it-just-means-a-lot-to-me-historical-plaque-honors-station-11-1st-all-Black-fire-station-in-kansas-city. 

“Fire Station No. 11.” African American Heritage Trail of Kansas City. Accessed November 21, 2022. https://aahtkc.org/firestationno11.