This bracketed Italianate building served as the City of Eugene's Fire Hall on the first floor and the City Hall on the upper floor. It stood on the North side of 8th Avenue between Willamette and Park Streets and served in this dual capacity until the City Hall was moved to the Old Eugene High School building at 11th and Willamette St. in 1915. The tower in the back ground served a double purpose as the fire alarm (a large bell) and the hose drying tower. It can be seen in many of the old views of downtown taken from Skinners Butte. The building continued to serve as the downtown fire hall for several years after the relocation of city hall.
love the old photos! have read stories that back in the day the city used to ring a bell every time a citizen died>day or night. i wonder if this is it! kinda spooky!
ReplyDeleteI've heard that too and wondered the same thing! I need to find the source but I know the City council passed a resolution to stop the practice as the citizens found it "unnerving" to hear the bell ring, especially at night and wonder who had passed away. I think it was the late 1860's when the practice was discontinued.
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