It is located near Olvera Street in the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District.

Designed by local architect William A. Boring [the City paid him $160.75 for his drawings],[2] and built in 1884, it operated as a firehouse until 1897.

The building was thereafter used as a saloon, cigar store, poolroom, "seedy hotel", Chinese market, "flop house", and drugstore.

The Plaza Firehouse Museum is open to the public Tuesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The museum features helmets, photos, and firefighting equipment of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.