Station No. 1 firefighters won't be needing a moving truck, but their firehouse might.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department searched for months for a plot of land downtown on which to build a firehouse to replace Station 1, which dates to when Calvin Coolidge was in the White House.

Unable to find anything affordable, the department recently decided to put up a $6 million firehouse at Colorado Avenue and Weber Street, where the two-story, brick Station No. 1 now stands.

The old fire station, with its Spanish tile terra cotta trim, buttresses and iron balconies, might head two football fields down the road.

The plan is to move the historic building to a center island that would be built at Pikes Peak Avenue and Weber, said Deputy Fire Chief Dan Raider, where it might end up being a restaurant or some other business.

Raider calls it a win-win solution - the Fire Department would get a new fire station on land it already has and the city preserves a piece of its architectural heritage.

"We didn't want to tear down one of our city's great buildings," he said, adding that taxpayers won't be picking up the estimated $500,000 to $750,000 tab for moving Station No. 1 under the department's plan.

Raider discussed the move with Mega Movers, the Discovery Channel series which specializes in the relocation of massive, historic structures.

Raider was assured by a company featured on the show that they could move the 500-ton building.

The plans are nothing more than a pipe dream until they get approved by the City Council, however.

Count Councilman Jerry Heimlicher among those with reservations.

"Even if it doesn't cost the city a dime, I don't plain understand why we would drop a building in the middle of the street," he said.

Heimlicher cited concerns about traffic flow and said he was in favor of preserving the building, as long as it wasn't placed in the middle of the street.

Principal architect Jim Fennell said the island would "most certainly" slow down traffic but added the change would not be drastic. He said the slower commute was the tradeoff for a more pedestrianfriendly area.

"It'll have the same effect as the medians on Cascade Avenue," he said. "It will be more like a boulevard than a pass-thru."

Deputy City Manager Steven Cox said the plans follow the vision of Colorado Springs founder Gen. William Palmer, who believed Pikes Peak Avenue would be the ceremonial entryway to the core of the city.

"The goal is create a prominent revival to an area of the city that has lagged", he said of downtown blocks east of Nevada Avenue.
Envisioned as the springboard to economic growth on Pikes Peak Avenue, Cox said the old firehouse could attract neighboring businesses to a street mostly lined by parking lots in that area.

As much as Raider reveres the archaic Station 1, he said it's not equipped to handle a modern fire department.

Now the base for Truck Company 1, Engine 1 and a district fire chief office, the building needs to expand to five, wider bays and be able to accommodate male and female firefighters, Raider said.

The Fire Department hopes to break ground for the new firehouse by spring or summer next year.

Even if he doesn't have the bankroll for the old station, Raider has a business pitch.

"Talk about the perfect atmosphere for a brew pub," he said.

But he advised leaving the trip down the fire pole to the professionals.