A former fire station, originally built in 1907, still has a working fireman’s pole
Watch the video of a Register journalist trying out the slide pole at this Des Moines fire station-turned-home
Some families have heirlooms that are passed down from generation to generation. A piece of jewelry, perhaps a cookbook or a rocking chair.
The Guinns have a fire station.
Naomi Guinn-Johnson and her husband, Paul Johnson, moved into her father’s renovated fire station at 1041 Eighth St. in Des Moines five years ago. Chet Guinn, a retired United Methodist Church minister, was 91 at the time and needed help staying in his unconventional home.
Guinn purchased the historic Fire Station No. 4 from the city in 1980 for $1.
“My father wanted to stay here. It’s one of those things where you never know what’s going to happen,” said Naomi Guinn-Johnson about moving in with him. “But he’s been here since the ’80s. I’m kind of used to it.”
Now 96, Guinn lives on the station’s ground floor – a former horse stable that he converted into a great hall, office, kitchenette, bedroom and playroom. His home is famous in its own right. Featured in magazines, on HGTV’s “You Live In What?” and on the River Bend Annual Home Tour, Guinn’s firehouse is both a piece of history and a family legacy.
“There were only horse stables here,” he said, pointing to an attic full of stuffed animals and board games. “Now it’s a playground for my great-grandchildren.”
Guinn is well known in Des Moines as an anti-war activist. He has led protests dating back to the Vietnam War, sometimes getting arrested for doing so. He organized the fundraiser for a 10-foot-tall peace monument that stands on Des Moines Area Community College’s Urban Campus next to its fire station. He once envisioned a series of such monuments along Interstate 235 downtown.
He was also active in the civil rights movement, and memorabilia from his life and passions still adorn every wall and corner of the 117-year-old building. They include a framed picture of the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota next to the slide pole, old toy fire trucks and a signed portrait of the Reverend Jesse Jackson urging Guinn to “Keep hope alive!”
Although Guinn-Johnson had long been living alone by the time her father bought the station, she had a front-row seat to watch him begin a new chapter of his life there. He used to slide down the bar to entertain reporters and guests, but now the stairs are too much for him.
His daughter started working from home to be near him.
“It’s nice right now. I like the view and I go downtown quite a bit,” she said.
Chet Guinn fought for the renovation of Fire Station No. 4
Guinn did not pass by his family home in the usual way.
In the 1980s, there was a great deal of interest in urban renewal around Cheatom Park, south of the Riverbend neighborhood. The city used vast amounts of federal money to demolish dilapidated houses and make way for the DMACC Urban Campus and United Way headquarters.
Guinn, who served as the city’s pastor, saw the boarded-up Fire Station No. 4 as the perfect base for himself and his work. The building had not been used for decades; the firefighters had long ago moved to a newer station on University Avenue.
But Guinn was not the only interested party in the old station. In 1979, the Community Blood Bank of Central Iowa (now LifeServe Blood Center) submitted a bid for the building, which it wanted to demolish and redevelop. Guinn’s counterbid was rejected because the city of Des Moines claimed it had been submitted too late.
He decided to sue and, as part of an out-of-court settlement, wrote the city a check for one dollar for the building—the same amount the blood bank was willing to pay.
“They wanted to turn (the fire station) into a parking lot. I just knew that shouldn’t happen,” Guinn said.
The sale was conditional. Guinn had a year to repair the old 5,000-square-foot building or he would lose the property. He budgeted $8,500 for the renovation and put out a call to the neighborhood to hire anyone who wanted to help. Fortunately, Guinn said, he was “inundated” with interest.
After completion, the fire station became the base for several community groups in the early 1980s, including the Des Moines Area Food Bank. Guinn slept upstairs and left the downstairs rooms vacant. To add to his style, Guinn purchased a retired fire truck that he took to campaign events and rallies.
Previously: This is what the final renderings of the $11.6 million Fire Station No. 4 in Des Moines look like
He never had a Dalmatian, although many people tried to give him one.
“They’re very spirited dogs. So I would say, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,'” Guinn said.
His only regret in his mission to save the fire station was that the blood bank got as much land as it got for its $1.5 million facility at 1050 Seventh Street. They built a large parking lot anyway, even though the property has since been transferred to DMAAC.
Naomi Guinn-Johnson and her husband also live in the station
Fire Station No. 4 is just feet from the I-235 Exit 8 ramp, and the noise of traffic is constant. Helicopters fly by on their way to MercyOne Hospital and patients arrive from the neighboring United Way of Central Iowa.
“Many people have been here a hundred times and have never seen (the station),” said Paul Johnson.
Despite the noise, he and his wife have found ways to make the fire station their home. They replaced a small pond in the backyard with a water feature. The sound of the water bubbling and hitting the rocks doesn’t drown out the noise of the highway, but it helps.
Upstairs is a cozier living area. Originally the firefighters’ quarters, this is now a living room, bedroom, small office, kitchen and bathroom. Guinn renovated the kitchen when he moved in and installed new cabinets.
The floors, trim and door frames are all original. Removing her father’s carpet and linoleum to expose the wood underneath was one of the first jobs Guinn-Johnson completed before she and her husband moved in.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “But it was a big project.”
The bathroom, once a two-stall shower and changing area, retains much of its original charm despite some improvements. It’s no longer painted pink — a joke Guinn said firefighters played on the city because it mandated that the interiors of municipal buildings be cream. Guinn-Johnson’s son helped her re-lay the tile, and the built-in cabinets and sink were replaced with help from West End Architectural Salvage, which also installed sliding barn-style doors throughout.
More: Actor Jason Momoa shops at West End Architectural Salvage and dines at Waveland Cafe on his trip to Iowa
The couple have discussed using the lower part of the station as an event venue or offering the station as an Airbnb-like rental property. However, neither of these will happen as long as they live there; they don’t want any side hustles while Guinn-Johnson works toward her own retirement.
“All in all, it’s a beautiful place to live,” her husband said.
Fire Station No. 4 has a bright future in Guinn’s grandson
Fire Station No. 4 won’t be coming to market anytime soon. While Guinn-Johnson and her husband are looking forward to downsizing in a few years, her son, Tony Johnson, hopes to take over the fire station.
He would move in with his wife and seven-year-old daughter and give her the same bragging rights he had as a child.
“I remember the fire station as far back as I can remember,” Johnson said. “I knew it was unique.”
He said he wanted to continue to respect the historic character of the property but, like his mother, put his own “touch” on it. The ground floor may need modernising and he anticipates his daughter will want to convert the attic playroom into a bedroom.
Until then, Guinn is on the first floor of Fire Station 4. He can usually be found in his bedroom, looking through photos, working on a puzzle or enjoying a TV show.
He trusts that his family will maintain the fire station even after his death.
“They are the only ones who can take care of it. That’s what I want to preserve,” he said. “They will plant the flowers.”
Addison Lathers covers growth and development in the Des Moines metropolitan area. Reach her at 608-931-1761 or [email protected] and follow her on X at @addisonlathers.
