A Proven Visual Communications Partner with European Presence.
The History of Firehouse
The history of Firehouse begins long before we were a commercial photo lab. We take our name from our original building which was an active fire station for 75 years.What became Indianapolis Fire Station 11 was actually Fire Station 15 when it opened in 1896. Station 15 relocated and Station 11 moved into the building in 1901. They remained there for 70 years. Horses became steam engines. Steam engines became diesel engines. The sounds of street cars and hooves across brick faded into rubber on asphalt. Station 11 needed updated facilities and relocated in 1971.
The station, property and surrounding buildings were purchased by the Abels. Fred and Peggy Abel reported that there was still hay in the second-story loft when they took ownership. The old building received much care and attention before the Abels opened Firehouse Colorlab. Firehouse catered to the consumer and commercial photography markets offering a wide range of services. Our reputation as the premier commercial photo lab in Indiana started to grow.After 18 years, the photo lab industry was shifting. The consumer market was moving away from our specialized services and the commercial market demanded MORE specialization. Firehouse was at a cross-roads and needed to evolve.
The evolution began in 1989 when the Abels sold the business to brothers Tim and Terry Corman. Firehouse retained what consumer business it could and aggressively targeted commercial clients. And the Corman's purchased their first Macintosh computer in 1990. Tim Corman left to pursue other business interests and Terry's wife Sally came on board to run the front counter. The business survived a fire and a flood and continued to grow. The one Macintosh grew to many and a digital imaging department was born. The business continued to evolve away from a commercial photo lab into a digital imaging powerhouse. Darkrooms were replaced with workstations and traditional photographic services gave way to digital photo printers.
As Firehouse's long-time employees will say, there was always a love/hate relationship with Firestation #11. It had marvelous history, style and charm. Clients loved the ambiance. It was also difficult to modernize (running network cables between floors was a nightmare), and impossible to adequately heat and cool. In 2003 we came to the conclusion that the business had outgrown Station #11. We found a new home with the needed space and modernized infrastructure. The consumer side of the business was left behind and we broadened our scope to not just regional, but global commercial accounts.We've come a long way in 40 years, but we will always carry the legacy of our humble beginnings with us as we continue to evolve.