ATCEMS places time capsule in historic Station One amid renovations

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin-Travis County EMS commemorated the renovation of a historic station Monday by adding even more history to it -- literally embedding it in the walls.

ATCEMS celebrated the renovation of Station One, which was the first free-standing EMS station in the country.

The station -- which is located at 3616 South 1st Street -- has been undergoing renovations, and to commemorate the new life for the building, ATCEMS placed a time capsule within its walls Monday.

ATCEMS said this was a "unique opportunity for present-day Austinites to leave a piece of history for future generations to discover."

ATCEMS also held a "send off" in 2021 for the station before the remodeling began.

Austin-Travis County EMS Station 1 opened on April 15, 1982 at a cost of $345,000, paid for by a bond package approved by voters in 1979, KXAN previously reported.

Since then, the station has housed multiple response vehicles, including ambulances, district command units, special operations units and rescue boats, and has been a “home away from home” for thousands of medics, ATCEMS told KXAN in 2021.

Construction of the “new and improved Station 1” was approved by voters as part of a bond package in 2018, which also included remodels of four other ATCEMS stations.