The Old Fire House's Profile

The Old Fire House is just what you want: a place for youth aged 13-19 to hang out, skate, take art classes, develop pictures, play pool, see live bands, go on field trips, and much more. It’s free to visit the Old Fire House during drop-in, so come on down and check it out.

The Old Fire House serves Redmond’s youth with arts, music, recreation, education, and personal support services. In an average week, the Old Fire House has 300 teen visits. Young people are very involved in program planning and implementation, keeping us in touch with current trends and issues.
It all started in the late 1980’s when the City of Redmond realized that some young people were alienated and not involved in the mainstream activities offered to them. It was also apparent that many of these young people were self-recreating and often doing this in unhealthy ways. Redmond has a visionary Mayor and Parks and Recreation Department, who in 1991 embraced the idea of providing non-traditional programming for older youth.
Forums were held and surveys were taken, and it was apparent that Redmond’s young people had a consistent message: give us a place to be and things we like to do. In 1992, the Nightlife program was born. For two years, we operated out of multiple facilities, offering programs and evaluating youth interest. In 1994, we secured a permanent home by founding the Old Fire House Teen Center. In 1992, the Eastside’s young people made it clear that they wanted live music. Working with young bands, we produced our first live concert in September of 1992. Four Eastside bands performed and 324 teens attended our first show. We continue to grow and expand our programs in response to youth interests.

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