THIS past weekend Weymouth Fire Station in Radipole Lane held an open day.

The fire station, now known as a community safety centre and opened seven years ago in July 2011, has come a long way since it was at North Quay.

We thought it timely to share these photos of the town's previous fire station under construction in the 1930s.

Looking Back correspondent Geoff Pritchard has helped us out with some information about the old building.

It opened in November 1939, replacing the station on the corner of St Edmund Street and Maiden Street, better known today as the public toilets with the cannon ball in the wall.

The contractor for the new station was Whitelock of Bournemouth, with a successful tender of £16,700.

In 1941 fire services were nationalised and in 1948 returned to local authority control, this time under Dorset County Council. From 1948 to 1986 the North Quay site also housed the headquarters of the Dorset Fire Brigade and the western divisional headquarters. The first photograph, taken from Westwey Road shows the front of the building nearing completion.

A couple of residents put the world to rights on the Sidney Hall Roundabout, built in 1932 and removed last year.

Large advertisement hoardings promote Groves brewery and Kodak film.

The second shows the building at a less advanced state, with Cosens paddle steamer Embassy, then recently acquired from the Southern Railway, alongside Ferry’s Corner.