Former Osaka City Central Fire Station Imabashi Branch (Imabashi Building)

A Small Fire Station of the Great Osaka Era

The Former Osaka City Central Fire Station Imabashi Branch (Imabashi Building) (旧大阪市中央消防署今橋出張所（今橋ビルヂング）) is a reinforced concrete former fire station built in 1925 in Imabashi, Chuo Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, which in 2007 was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records three storeys and a building area of 65 square metres, altered in 2005, and registered as a model of design.

Osaka City notes that it was built as the Imabashi branch of the city's Central Fire Station.

Structure

According to the Agency, it is a three-storey concrete building with a 6-metre frontage facing north onto the street, faced in tile. The ground floor was the fire engine garage and keeps its segmental-arched opening on the front.

The large windows of the second and third floors are framed in Tudor arches, with a balcony on the second floor. The Agency notes an ambitious design for so small a building. Osaka City lists four storeys above ground, a different count.

What to Look For

Osaka City calls it a successful example of a public historic building revived through private use, surrounded by landmarks of the Great Osaka era such as the Osaka Club (1924) and the former Sumitomo Building. In fiscal 2020 the exterior was cleaned, tiles repaired, the second-floor sashes restored in steel, and the lamp that recalls its fire station past repaired.

Look at the segmental-arched opening on the front and the balcony framed by Tudor-arched windows.

Visiting the Former Osaka City Central Fire Station Imabashi Branch (Imabashi Building)

Osaka City says it is now an Italian restaurant. It takes part in the Living Architecture Museum Festival Osaka and was opened to the public during the 2025 festival.

The exterior can be seen from Imabashi-dori.