Maybe the Houston weather helped, but new books arrived hot off the presses last week, courtesy of Houston Fire Department personnel historian Scott Mellott. Mellott delivered a box of 10 copies of a picture book that’s definitely considered a must-have for Axiom’s coffee table in the lobby and highly recommended for Houston households. “A Pictorial History of [...]
The final chapter of Axiom’s 14-year run within the art deco-style Clark & Courts Building (est. 1936), a Houston landmark at 1210 West Clay St., is underway. The transition to another landmark building, the original Fire Station No. 6 at 1702 Washington Ave., began in December when Axiom president Tom Hair obtained a temporary certificate [...]
The finishing touches to the historic Fire Station No. 6 restoration are in the home stretch as a variety of plants have been placed about the property earlier this month. Fire Station No. 6, located at 1702 Washington Ave. in Houston, will be the new home for Axiom’s offices by the end of the month. [...]
“It’s Starting to Feel Real”: Axiom’s logo in place atop Fire Station 6 Axiom’s new home got its own name displayed high upon the new building on Thursday, one more finishing touch completed as the company gets prepared to move to Washington Avenue and Sixth Ward. “It’s starting to feel real,” said John Luu, Axiom’s [...]
The restoration of Fire Station No. 6 extends beyond the building itself. A curbside view of the Cedar Bayou brick-laden station at 1702 Washington Ave. appears reminiscent of its early 20th century origins (Fire Station No. 6 first opened in 1903). And just a few feet from the curb, the sidewalk in front of the [...]
Updates for October & November. Although construction has been running about a month behind schedule, the restoration and new addition to Fire Station No. 6 continued to show steady progress in October and November. During these months, the following work was done: Exterior: Stucco, Brick and EIFS Crown The exterior stucco application was most challenging. [...]
During the original renovation process of Fire Station No. 6, we recognized the creativity of the building’s original construction, which included sheet metal that was formed to give the appearance of terra cotta roofing and cut stone on the front crown of the building. “From our research, the original builders were very resourceful in their [...]
The very hot, dry months of August & September provided plenty of sunshine to make progress on Fire Station 6, primarily on the new building addition. Work consisted primarily of the following: Exterior Finishing structural framing, applying plywood exterior walls and Tyvek wrap Installing roofing materials to the new building Setting the air conditioner compressors [...]
Every project has some hiccups and the Fire Station is no exception. Once the windows of the new addition were finally built and delivered, the General Contractor installed them ASAP. Unfortunately, this is a case where haste makes waste. Visual inspection showed that the arched windows on the front of the new addition did not [...]
Phase 2: Shiny New Brass Pole in Place. Adam Will captured the installation of a new brass fire pole, reestablishing a quick slide to the first floor of Fire Station No. 6. While it’s unlikely that the pole will help Axiom get in position to put out marketing fires for its clients, there will no [...]
Phase 1 Restoration: Protecting and Replacing After the Houston Fire Department vacated Fire Station No. 6 at 1702 Washington, the building went through several owners. Over the years it was used as an auction house and a salvage yard, and it was intended to become a restaurant when the building’s structure and detailing caught Tom [...]
The Long Pause Between Phase 1 and Phase 2. When most of the original restoration work was complete, the bottom started to fall out of the economic market in fourth quarter 2008. The global economy was becoming very unstable as the United States slid into a deep recession. The price of a barrel of oil [...]