Longview Municipal Building and Central Fire Station
Longview, Gregg County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Longview Municipal Building and Central Fire Station The city of Longview was incorporated in 1871, and there is evidence of a volunteer fire department as early as 1887. A new city hall complex with fire station was constructed in 1905, but the 1930s East Texas oil boom and subsequent population explosion in Longview made the offices too small. In 1935, voters approved the issuance of bonds for the construction of a new municipal building and central fire station. Contractor A. M. Campbell completed this building in 1936. Combining Neoclassical and Mediterranean architectural influences popular at the time, the structure features a red tile roof and fossilized limestone veneer. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Longview incorporated in 1871 and had volunteer firefighters by 1887, but nothing prepared it for the 1930s, when the East Texas oil boom flooded the town with people and money. The 1905 city hall quickly proved too small, so voters approved bonds for a new seat of government, completed in 1936 with a red tile roof and fossilized-limestone veneer blending Neoclassical and Mediterranean styling. The building housed both city offices and the central fire station.
Why it matters
Structures like this one are monuments to the East Texas oil boom, the discovery that turned sleepy farm towns into overnight cities during the Great Depression.
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Related people
- · A. M. Campbell
Themes & tags
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