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ALARM HOUSE, 2026
mixed media on canvas
48" x 30"
90 years ago, in the fall of 1936, a small sketch and caption were published on page 13 in the Sunday morning edition of the Sacramento Union. The rendering and its accompanying article informed citizens for the first time about the construction of a new, modern fire alarm system for the city of Sacramento. The system’s focal point would become this building - located in the middle of Winn Park – at that time considered to be the geographic center of the city of Sacramento.
Once an alarm was received at the new station, it would take only 36 seconds to dispatch fire-fighting personnel and equipment. (Previously it took two-and-a-half minutes). Five years later in 1941, Sacramento’s system was hailed by the Bee as “the most efficient of its kind in the United States.”
The original 1936 sketch published in the Union was about four inches and placed near the top of the page. This artwork is a 48-inch by 30-inch canvas which displays an aged and enlarged facsimile of that sketch. The finished piece is about ten times - or one thousand percent - larger than the original.
Chris Lango is a producer, researcher and filmmaker in Sacramento. He uses materials and collections from our local archival resources as the basis for his documentary work. His films focus mostly on elevating Sacramento’s place on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 60s.
Chris also combines his passion for journalism and history through archival-based artwork. He creates displays using facsimile copies of newspaper articles, photographs, personal papers, telegrams, advertisements, etc. as source material. The finished works highlight many unique, interesting, and forgotten aspects of Sacramento’s history.
@journal.artist
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