Original Name: Fire Station
Date of Construction: 1952
Architect: H. L. Gogerty
Total Building Area: 3, 068 SF
Original Use: Fire Station
History/Significance: Building 18, the Fire Station, is executed in the International Style. This small building is achieved with notable simplicity and skill in mass and composition. Constructed during the later part of the period of significance, the building is part of a group, which represents the maturation of Hughes Aircraft as a stable defense contractor, major employer, and developer of electronics applications for aerospace and defense. Industrial facilities, spurred on by increasing regulation by the federal government, were showing interest in workplace safety and security. For large complexes such as Hughes, it became common to provide private firefighting equipment and staff.
Rehabilitation: Rehabilitation of Building 18 is currently underway. It will be transformed into commissary and screening room. Building 18 opens up to a landscaped courtyard linking it with Buildings 10, 11, and 17. To reference the historic district’s history, the courtyard features aviation-inspired elements, like a series of low, segmented walls in the shape of an airplane wing. For more images of Building 18, click the arrows at left.