Youth Art Center Under Construction At 225 East 5th Street, Downtown Los Angeles

A new art center project is taking shape and form at its project site at 225 East 5th Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The project proposal includes the development of a youth art center in the historic Fire Station No. 23. The project calls for the conversion of the structure that dates back more than 20 years. The fire station came into service in 1910, and even accommodate horse-drawn fire engines until 1915. It was considered one of the most advanced facilities of its type at the time of its construction.

Brooks + Scarpa is responsible for the designs.

225 East 5th Street View via Google Maps

The longtime plan to convert historic Fire Station No. 23 in Downtown Los Angeles into a youth art center is finally turning into a reality. Renovation is in full swing to add upgrades to the structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Historic finishes are proposed to be retained.

Construction is slated to be completed in two phases; the first of which is a retrofit of the building. Afterwards, plans call for converting the interior, with flexible gallery exhibit space to be housed in the ground floor in what was once the fire station’s apparatus bay. Classrooms and art programming are planned for the second and third floors of the building.

225 East 5th Street Interior via Brooks + Scarpa

In 2018, it was reported that funding for the Fire Station No. 23 makeover was approved in 1996 through Proposition K., which allocated $25 million annually for new parks, recreation facilities, and other youth-oriented spaces. Prop. K allocated $2.3 million to convert the firehouse originally, although the cost for the project had already outstripped that sum in 2018.

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