Advertisement

Daily What?! Step Back in Time at the NYC Fire Museum in Hudson Square

Daily What?! Step Back in Time at the NYC Fire Museum in Hudson Square
Become a paid member to listen to this article

If you want to get off the standard museum path, our latest favorite is the NYC Fire Museum. Located in a stunning 1904 Beaux-Arts firehouse next to one of those ubiquitous stacked parking lots on Spring Street, what’s inside is even more impressive. The collection tells the story of the fire department from the colonial Dutch days to now, covering the evolution from volunteer to paid municipal departments, with a permanent 9/11 Memorial as well.

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_2

A horse drawn steam engine used in Brooklyn from 1901. The last official one was used in 1922:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_4
NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_5

A Type 75 American LaFrance engine from around 1921 which replaced the horse drawn steam engine:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_3

A horse drawn chief’s buggy from 1892, used by fire chiefs to race to the scene. The accompanying sign says, “Today, they ride in GM Suburban automobiles.”:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_9
NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_6

This was known as a gooseneck engine because of the shape of the nozzle and was the most common engine until the 1840s:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_8

This electric light from around 1900 aided fire fighters at night, powered by generators on the steam engines:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_18

On the second floor you get to even more ornate buggies, shown as if on parade:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_26
NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_27

This hand pulled reel comes from Steinway Village, then a manufacturing village for the Steinway & Sons piano company. The sign says, “Volunteers took pride in their apparatus and went to great lengths and expense to decorate them”:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_28
NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_29

Elaborate shields given from one fire company to another:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_30

Vintage fire hats:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_32
NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_31
NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_33
NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_34

The 9/11 Memorial has an incredible photographic time line:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_20

A collection of artifacts:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_25
NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_24

This Nikon from the FDNY photo team was lost and recovered with its memory card intact. The photos displayed around the camera show the images taken from this camera after the first plane hit:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_19

There’s also recovered steel from the site, like this one where iron workers cut out crosses to give to families who lost loved ones:

NYC Fire Museum-Spring Street-SoHo-9-11 Memorial_22

The NYC Fire Museum is located at 278 Spring Street. You can even rent out the space for events, like this bat mitzvah! And don’t miss the chance to try on the firefighter gear (even though it says its for children).

Get in touch with the author

@untappedmich

.

Advertisement

Great! You’ve successfully signed up.

Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.

You've successfully subscribed to Untapped New York.

Success! Check your email for magic link to sign-in.

Success! Your billing info has been updated.

Your billing was not updated.