Denver Firefighters Museum [CO]

Description

The Museum is located in historic Denver Fire Station No. 1. The building was constructed in 1909 for Engine Company No. 1 by Glen W. Huntington, noted Denver architect, as one of the largest firehouses ever built in Denver. The building served as a working fire station until 1974. Today the Museum offers hands-on activities and exhibits which provide information about fire safety and prevention as well as the history of the Denver Fire Department and historic Fire Station No. 1. Visitors can try on firefighting equipment, slide down a pole, and ride on a fire truck designed just for kids.

The museum offers exhibits, tours, and educational and recreational programs and events.

Eureka Fire Museum [NJ]

Description

The Museum displays historic firefighting equipment and memoriabilia. The most prominent items in the museum's collection are two fire engines, a 1921 American LaFrance and an 1899 Wilkes hand-drawn hose cart. Among the thousands of badges, patches, sprinkler heads, and firefighting gear are many unusual items, including a burlap "salvage bag" and a wooden Japanese fire extinguisher.

The museum offers exhibits.

San Francisco Fire Department Historical Society and Museum [CA]

Description

The primary mission of the Society is to preserve the heritage and to record the history of the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) for the benefit of the citizens of San Francisco. This mission will include the conservation and preservation of the collection, display of documents, graphic items, fire memorabilia, apparatus, appliances, and other items at the Society's Museum. The award-winning Society muster team, by preserving the physical techniques of firefighting used in the past, makes the Museum a museum of living history.

The museum offers exhibits and occasional recreational and educational events.

New Bern Firemen's Museum [NC]

Description

Established in 1955, the New Bern Firemen's Museum seeks to preserve the history of firefighting in New Bern. The exhibits are original pieces of equipment from the city's past. New Bern was the first city in North Carolina to charter a fire company, and one of the first in the nation; and the city's firefighters hold many world records.

The museum offers exhibits.

Engine House No. 5

Description

Built in 1880 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the bank of the Grand River, Engine House No. 5 served the community with a horse-drawn steam pumper and a hose cart. The Engine House has since been moved and restored; and today, it houses firefighting equipment and memorabilia.

The museum offers exhibits and tours.

Toledo Firefighters Museum

Description

"Founded in 1976 for the purpose of preserving the history of the Toledo Fire Division and educating citizens about fire prevention and safety. In memory of fallen firefighters, the two-story museum is located in a working fire station, "Old Number 18 Fire House", circa 1920, which was replaced by a new station in 1975."

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Description

The fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City was the deadliest workplace disaster in New York history until 9/11. David Von Drehle, the author of Triangle: The Fire that Changed America, discusses the fire in this segment from the NBC Today Show.

This feature is no longer available.

Going to Town: Shopping in Downtown Boston

Description

Historian Anthony Sammarco follows the development of downtown Boston from the city's early years to the present day. He focuses on the area called Downtown Crossing, following the Great Boston Fire of 1872, and examines the commercial shopping establishments that replaced pre-fire residences and churches. His presentation includes slides.

This feature is no longer available at WGBH.