Showing Medford's old firehouse some smooth new moves

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Dave Kahn and Rebecca Blust are opening the Firehouse Dance Hall in Medford's original firehouse building on Front St. Bob Pennell / Mail Tribune photoBob Pennell

MEDFORD — The annex to the city's first firehouse could become a hot spot for dance under the tutelage of Dave Kahn and Rebecca Blust, owners of Southern Oregon Swing.

Today marks the grand opening of the pair's Firehouse Dance Hall at 44 N. Front St. Free dance lessons will be offered at 8 p.m., followed by a swing dance at 9:15 p.m.

"The old wood floors are much too nice to be anything but a dance floor as far as we're concerned," said Khan.

Longtime dance and teaching partners, Blust and Kahn were hired to coordinate Saturday night swing dance classes for Evergreen Ballroom in recent years.

The pair needed a new venue after space ran out at the White City dance school. Once the previous tenants of the firehouse annex ended their lease, Kahn said he and Blust couldn't fathom not having the space available for dancing.

"It was too neat of a building to pass up, so we sort of made the leap of faith and met with the landlord to take out a lease," he said.

"We've been busy painting and cleaning and buying furniture. We're really hoping the space will get a lot of use."

In addition to dance lessons and swing dance events each week, the space will be available for rent for other types of dance, parties, classes and meetings.

Blust, a Medford resident and local teacher, said the space has generated interest for a range of uses, from karate classes to bachelorette parties.

"It's a very interesting space, and we'd like it to be used as much as possible," Blust said.

"We'd like to stay as long as possible. The entire building is actually for sale for $1.8 million, but I don't think we'd ever be able to buy the whole thing."

Kahn, of Ashland, said he and Blust hope to maintain the building's historic value.

"We really like this place. It has a nice, familiar feel with the old bricks, and we've got a little lounge in back. We're trying to keep the scene of the central fire hall," he said.

The hall boasts more than 700 square feet of wood flooring and 15-foot ceilings.

"The main thing is we didn't want to lose our space for West Coast swing dances, but we also wanted to see this historic space used by the community that it's been part of for so long," Kahn said.

Built in 1908, the original firehouse next door was one of the city's first public buildings. Designed by architect John McIntosh, the building was used for City Council chambers and public library use until the Carnegie Building opened in 1911.

The annex was designed by architect Frank Clark in 1915 and built six years later. It's been home to a variety of uses over the years, including office and commercial space, a furniture store and offices for the Civilian Conservation Corps. Upstairs housed a "prophylactic center" for soldiers during the valley's Camp White years, says Ben Truwe, historian and Medford City Council member.

On the Web: www.firehousedancehall.com.

Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at buffypollock@juno.com.

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