When we were kids we had enormous amounts of Lego. And I mean crazy amounts. There were a few kits in particular I have very fond memories of, and one of them would surely be this one:
< From 1983
It is obviously a fire station, but back in 1983 when I got it for Christmas it was oh-so ‘high tech’ (for Lego), featuring such things as the slide-away garage doors and the opening windows. I really loved this kit, and would eventually know how to make it without even needing the instructions.
Today, in my travels, I came across this kit in the Christmas clearance ‘sale bin’ at Wal-Mart:
Lego has done a different fire station every few years since 1973. I think there are about 7 or 8 of them now, and this is the latest. It goes without saying I bought it, and I’ll put a short entry up when it is made. But even now, just by looking at the box, I doubt it has the magic of the original (even though it does seem to be much closer in spirit to the 1983 classic than, say, the 2000 offering).
I remember that fire station, although it seems quite small. I think you might have got it for your birthday though, not Christmas.