McKownville old fire house and community hall at 1 Arcadia Avenue, first opened in 1935.
Photo (left), probably taken in the 1950's (from the files of the Guilderland Historical Society).
Designed by the architect August Lux, a longtime resident of McKownville, living at 6 Elmwood Street from 1931.
Photo (right) interior of the firehouse, with 1957 American LaFrance pumper E-56 (from McKownville Fire Dept old website 2020)


the old firehouse in April 2020


August Lux also designed the present fire house at 1250 Western Avenue, pictured below, opened in 1967.
The distinctive fireman's hat and horn weathervane was moved from the cupola of the old firehouse to the roof of the new firehouse.

A splendid parade was held in 2018 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the McKownville Volunteer Fire Department.
In its early years before the building of the old fire house pictured at the top, the fire department kept its equipment in the Country Club Garage. That garage, a structure long since demolished and replaced by the mid-20th century tavern now on the site, was located right behind the old fire house, at 1238 Western Avenue at the intersection of Upper Hillcrest Avenue.
The fire department has a detailed history page in its website.
Some additional historical information is contained in articles, also written by Fred Abele,
on the people involved in the initial organization, and in the first few decades of the history of the fire department.
A history of the engines used by the McKownville Fire Dept is available here.

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