How an old firehouse became the perfect spot for this new taproom just outside Fresno

There is a two-story, brown-brick building on Sixth Street in Fowler, just off Main.

Those who has been in the city long enough (like, for generations) might know it as the old City Hall — but for just about as long, most people in Fowler remember that it has housed the city’s volunteer fire department.

“This is where they parked the fire truck,” says Richard Wadda, who bought the building from the city in 2022 and turned it into Station 48 Taproom, Fowler’s first craft beer bar.

It has its soft opening Saturday afternoon.

Wadda is standing in the building’s main room.

It’s typical of a taproom. There are TVs on the wall and a dart board and shuffle board table. There’s a spot set up with speakers and microphone for live entertainment (there will be music and comedy shows). Roll-up doors on either side pass through to two separate patios: one facing Sixth Street and the other out back, where there are picnic tables and a permanent food truck, King of Kings Tacos.

But the decor more than hints at the building’s history.

On one wall is a mural done in black-light paint. It’s the Fowler city sign, with an arrow pointing toward a giant hop flower engulfed in flames. The opposite wall has a piece of American flag art made from old fire hose. Next to the bathrooms is a drawing of a firefighter. An actual fire extinguisher is mounted where the oxygen tank would be.

On the bar, there are two fire helmets that have obviously seen use.

Behind it are 22 tap handles that will carry beers from five Central Valley breweries: Crow and Wolf, House of Pendragon, Reborn, South of Shaw and Hop Forged.

They are set up to look like the control panel of a fire truck, the chrome set off by red and yellow.

“I just love, love, that Richard did that,” says Fowler City Councilmember Karnig Kazarian, who supported Wadda in adapting the building into a taproom.

“It’s shaping our future while honoring its roots.”

From Fowler City Hall to Station 48

Those roots go back to 1939, when the Station 48 building was constructed to serve as Fowler’s City Hall.

It cost $7,000.

Most of the building was done in red brick, except for the facade, which was made with brown bricks that had been repurposed from the Fowler Grammar School.

On one half of the bottom floor were offices for the the city clerk, water collector and chief of police, along with space for city council meetings. The other half housed the city’s “new” fire engine.

A story in the The Fowler Ensign from August 1939 described a stairway in the center of the building leading to a second floor, where there were “two modern apartments that have been finished with hard-wood floors, built-in conveniences and ample window space to provide light for the occupants. These apartments will be rented until such time as the city needs them for a fireman who will live there and be on call all of the time.”

The building served as City Hall through the 1970s. Fowler broke ground on its new City Hall (a block over on Fifth Street) in April 1980.

The old building remained as the fire station for another four decades.

The city built a new fire station (visible from the taproom’s back patio) in 2020, though the volunteer department was disbanded before it got to move into that building.

The original apartments still exist above the taproom, and Wadda’s next project (once the bar is totally up and operational) will be getting them into shape to be rented out.

Someone has already expressed interest in moving into the space, he says.

‘We need something different’

Kazarian says Station 48 Taproom is the kind of business Fowler needs right now. He hopes it spurs further investment in the city’s downtown. There are several buildings (including the Ensign newspaper building on Merced Street) that have been sitting vacant for years and would be ideal for redevelopment.

The median age of Fowler’s residents is skewing younger, he says, which means there are opportunities (but also a need) for the kinds of businesses the city hasn’t seen before.

Like taprooms, Kazarian says.

“In any other city, it’s a common thing.”

Indeed, Station 48 is following the lead of craft beer breweries and taprooms in other cities off Highway 99 and into the South Valley.

Riley’s Brewing Company opened up a taproom in Selma on McCall Avenue in October. The location had been Chicken Shack until that restaurant closed in 2022. It is the Madera brewery’s first taproom south of Fresno.

Kingsburg has two craft beer spots just off Draper Street.

Magosh Brewing opened up a taproom in June 2023.

It’s down an alley between Smith and Marion street and offers an array of brews, from the traditional (Ay Caramba American lager) to the funky (Don’t Rest On Your Lorals Saison farmhouse ale). There’s also live music and other events.

Roadhouse 99 also moved from its spot just off Highway 99 into Kingsburg proper in 2023. Though its more of a restaurant than a taproom, it carries more than a dozen craft breweries on draft from local, regional and national breweries.

Hanford has a had brewery in its downtown since 2019.

That’s when Hop Forged Brewing Company opened its taproom in an historic building that had been empty for more than two decades. It was the city’s first contemporary craft brewery/taproom.

BarrelHouse Brewing Company in Hanford?

Hop Forged could (someday) be joined by BarrelHouse Brewing Company in Kings County.

In November, it was reported that Hanford’s city council voted to sell the old Kings County Courthouse for $1 to Esteem Land Company LLC, in an agreement that would give up ownership of the building, but allow the city to preserve its historic integrity.

It was built in 1896 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Esteem Land Company shares a co-owner with BarrelHouse Brewing out of Paso Robles — and plans would have the brewery take over a floor of the courthouse, with the second floor being used for other businesses.

Of course, the building is in need of major improvements and those will happen over the next two years. So, the brewery shouldn’t be expected anytime before 2026.

This would be the third BarrelHouse taproom in the Central Valley.

It currently operates locations in Fresno (opened at River Park in 2020) and Visalia.

Earlier this month, the brewery said it was looking to open a space in Bakersfield.

This was just as it closed its longtime location in San Luis Obispo to look for a larger spaces with outdoor features, “two elements that we can never fully replicate at this downtown SLO location,” according to a statement from the brewery.

“Our decision not to renew our lease reflects our commitment to staying true to what makes BarrelHouse Brewing Co. special,” it wrote. “This is not an end, but a refocusing of our efforts to create even more spaces that embody the community, freedom and good vibes we hold dear.”