The Oak Park Firehouse, Station No. 6, was the largest and best equipped firehouse in the region and the only one with four bays. Few fire stations listed in the National Register of Historic Places matched this one in size for its era. The firehouse tower was used by Sacramento as its first and only fire training tower until approximately 1938.

The Oak Park suburb reflected the social and economic evolution of Sacramento, with its working class population and diverse ethnic composition. There are no other public buildings from this era remaining in the Oak Park area.

The building is a modest but competent example of Prairie School design, an unusual architectural style in Sacramento. The Craftsman style originally planned for its design was much more common in Sacramento and widely used in Oak Park residential construction.

Prairie School style in a government building was rare during a period when civic structures were decorated with classical motifs. Prairie School influences in the firehouse include the horizontal emphasis, the windows and the dramatic soffit with its overhanging eave.

The principal Prairie School structure in Sacramento is the Merrium Apartment building in the downtown area. [Webmaster note: The Merrium Apartment building was demolished in 1991.]

Adapted from the NRHP nomination submitted in 1991.