Fire House – Analog Artist Digital World

As I approached Fire Station 1 on foot, I saw that all the trucks were parked out front leaving the cavernous new garage as a Christmas workspace. The firemen were working like greased lightning busily constructing some 68 bikes for children in need this holiday season. These guys know how to use a wrench and I had to struggle to catch the fleeting gestures as the bikes were built. I set my stool up at the base of the fireman’s pole and immediately got to work. One fireman spoke to me for a few minutes. He said they love getting the chance to build these bikes each year. This is the ninth year in a row that bikes have been given away. The program began in 2002 when school bus routes were canceled from Reeves Terrace to several downtown schools due to budget cuts. Commissioner Patty Sheehan wanted to find a way to ensure children had bikes to travel safely to school.

The fireman pointed out that they have to decide each year who gets to build the bikes and who gets to give them away. Jokingly he confided that perhaps it is the “pretty boys” who give the bikes away. He took great pride in how quickly he could build a bike however. In about a week the bikes will be given away to children in Reeves Terrace community. Each bike is custom built with a specific needy child’s name on it. I sketched this outpouring of goodwill last year and I can’t wait to sketch it again this year. The Orlando Mounted Police escort a firetruck which acts as Santa’s sleigh. The huge police horses act as reindeer. Watching a little girl wobbling on her new bike then gaining balance with the help of a fireman is a heart warming image that still lingers with me.

“We take a lot of pride in the holiday spirit this event brings to kids and families who need it most. Nearly 700 bikes have been distributed through our Wheels for Kids program thanks to dedicated sponsors, civic leadership and community commitment.” said Commissioner Sheehan.

A new firehouse has been built downtown and opened December 2nd 2009 . The Old fire Station 1, (455 South Orange Avenue) is being torn down to make way for the new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. This new arts Center will just be for The traveling Broadway shows that pass through town. The hall was not set up acoustically for the Orlando Philharmonic. It is possible that no local arts groups will benefit in any way from this new buildings construction.
In the Orlando Weekly I read that there was going to be a Demolition Celebration. I was very curious to see how destruction is celebrated. When I got to the site the first thing I saw was a huge orange flag, much like the flags you might see above a used car lot. Dr. Phillips Arts Center was emblazoned on the flag in white letters. It fluttered quietly in the gentle breeze while across the street creaking moaning and crashing stone and metal could be heard. The fire stations back wall had already been torn down and I could look right through the gutted empty shell. I decided to walk around the block to see the back side of the building where all the demolishing was taking place.
A fire hydrant supplied the water to a hose which was used to water down all the loose dust kicked up b the falling debris. A large green crane was doing all the work by knocking away part of the roof with the large shovel. Periodically a small wildcat would move crumpled metal and place it in a pile. Trees now sporting large X’s framed the scene almost like the mouth of a shark. City hall can be seen in the background. The trees will of course also find no home in the new performing centers plans and they will come down as well. The money to build the arts center still doesn’t exist. What will be left in this spot will be an empty barren lot surrounded by a fence. It could, and probably will stay that way for many years. I have a strange fascination with these empty lots, usually symbols of some developers folly.
I never did see any celebration. Out with the old, forget the new, we can’t afford it.