Greensboro to rededicate historic Old Central Fire Station at 100 years

The city says the event will honor the legacy, service and sacrifice of generations of firefighters. Visitors will be able to see historical displays that include the department’s 1924 American LaFrance fire apparatus, a newly acquired 1904 American LaFrance horse-drawn steamer owned by Dean Green, and a curated photo exhibit showing life at Central Station across the decades. Fire Chief Jim Robinson said the centennial is “more than a ceremony” and called it a tribute to the generations of firefighters whose courage and dedication shaped the department.

The rededication lands at a milestone moment for Greensboro fire protection. The department first organized in 1884 as Steam Fire Engine Company No. 1, also known as the General Greene, serving a growing city before modern emergency response existed. Greensboro says the fire department became a fully paid organization in 1926, the same year Central Station opened, marking a shift to a new era of professional fire service. Today, the department has 613 members, operates from 27 fire stations and responds to more than 40,000 calls each year.

The building itself remains one of downtown Greensboro’s most recognizable civic landmarks. The station was designed in 1925 by Charles C. Hartmann, the city’s foremost architect at the time, and the National Register nomination describes it as a substantial early 20th-century building with carved granite ornamentation. The two-story red-brick station originally housed four fire companies and was described as an anchor for the surrounding commercial streetscape, a reminder that public safety and downtown growth developed together.