By Kevin Newhouse
Just in case you haven’t noticed, Aptos Village has been the topic of my most recent history articles. I think the reason why is pretty obvious. After more than 35 years and multiple proposals since the first adopted plan in 1979, the Aptos Village Redevelopment Plan is underway and major changes are imminent. The next few months may be your last opportunity to walk around the village before the alterations begin.
One of the buildings I urge you to visit is the current home to Testorff Construction, located at 8037 Soquel Drive, just next door to the Bay View Hotel. This small building has a wonderful historic background and played a huge part in the town’s early development.
We have records that indicate there was a building in the same location that was constructed in 1888 as an office for the Loma Prieta lumber Company. However, based on my research, this original building is not the same building that is there today.
The building you see today was built to serve as the town’s first official fire station in 1929. Prior to this, there was no official fire department. There were a group of volunteer firefighters in the early 1900s whose equipment consisted of a hose cart (stored on the porch of the old Red and White Store which is today’s Café Sparrow) and a few fire hydrants around town. There was a big fire bell in the middle of the field next to the Bay View Hotel that could be rung when a fire broke out to notify the volunteers there was a fire to fight. There was no way to carry or pump water, so fire fighting was successful only if the fire was reached within the first few minutes after it started. As you can imagine, the chances of your building surviving a blaze during these times without major damage were not very good.
In fact, there were a series of fires in 1924 that destroyed local buildings including a wing of the Aptos Hotel owned by the famous “Sugar-King” Claus Spreckels, the Vinegar Works building which was located in the field next to today’s Village Faire Antique Barn, and a generating plant, which caused about $9,000 in damage. That’s when the town decided to form an official fire department.
By 1929, after years of discussion and fundraising efforts, Aptos finally had a firehouse to store their top-of-the-line equipment including a chemical engine mounted on a 60 horsepower Locomobile chassis and a pumper on a Chalmers chassis. Aptos firefighters could readily negotiate all hills in the vicinity and the pumper could easily throw water over the tallest building in town. The department was also equipped with accessories such as axes, buckets, and hoses. All of this was made possible through the generous donations of funds by the business owners and citizens of Aptos.
The land on which the station was built was being leased from the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, and was offered by Joseph Arano, who was the proprietor of the Bay View Hotel.
In 1935, the building was moved from its location on the Arano estate, to the adjoining property, which was secured under a long-term lease agreement. The work of moving and enlarging the building was done once again, by volunteer labor in the Aptos district.
This building served as the fire station until 1954, when a new building was constructed with state-of-the-art equipment just on the other side of Trout Gulch Road. The new building, located at 8059 Aptos Street, is home to today’s Aptos Street BBQ and served as the fire station until 1971 when it was deemed too small and a new station was built in its current location close to Deer Park.
Over the years, the original fire station building has been home to many businesses including the VFW (Veterans of the Foreign Wars) Hall – Monterey Bay Post No. 778 American legion, an insurance office, a produce stand, a firewood shop, a flower store, and is now home to Testorff Construction.
The Aptos Fire Department has certainly come a long way since the days of a single hose cart. Unfortunately, the town’s first official firehouse has not been designated as a historic building due to the many alterations over the years. It is not included in the Village Redevelopment Plan and will therefore have to be moved or destroyed before this project is completed. So again, I urge you to visit this building and take a look at a piece of our town’s history before it is gone forever.
For more information about the Aptos History Museum, upcoming events, or becoming a member of the museum, please visit www.aptoshistory.org and follow us on Instagram @aptos_history_museum.