The Fire Watch
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The tall tower that looms before you was formerly a fire station in Oslo. It was built at the same time as the expansion of the adjoining building, the Bazaars, in the late 1850s. The station went by the catchy name, Fire Watch, and initially, the fire brigade counted over 35 men. The tower you see was not, as many believe, used to keep a lookout for fires. It was actually used to dry the water hoses. The much taller tower of the Cathedral, looming behind the station, was used for fire watch instead. The Fire Watch was the city's main fire station until 1939. The fire brigade never made it to the dramatic city fire in 1858 when the station was still under construction. As a result, 41 townhouses were swallowed by the flames. The fire probably hastened the process so that the station could become operational before it was planned to be finished. There was never a shortage of work at this fire station, and if there were no fires raging, there was perhaps always some cat that had strayed up a tree.