Denver Firefighters Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Fire Station No. 1
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Front of the museum
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 Location in Colorado
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1326 Tremont Pl., Denver, Colorado |
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| Built | 1909 |
| Architect | G.W. Huntington & Co. |
| Website | http://www.denverfirefightersmuseum.org/ |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000586 |
| Added to NRHP | November 14, 1979 |
The Denver Firefighters Museum is a cool place in downtown Denver, Colorado. It's a special museum that teaches you all about the history of firefighting in Denver. It has four main areas where you can explore and learn. The museum opened in 1978 inside an old fire station called Fire Station No. 1. This building was built way back in 1909 and is now a very important historic landmark.
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The Historic Fire Station
The Denver Firefighters Museum is located in a really old firehouse, which is called Historic Station No. 1. A person named Glen W. Huntington designed and built it in 1909. This Station One is actually the second one in Denver's history. The first Station One was taken down in 1909 to make room for a big monument. This monument was built to honor the brave pioneers who traveled across the plains. The new Station One, where the museum is now, cost $20,000 to build back then.
This historic building was recognized as a special Denver Landmark in 1974. Later, in 1979, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's an important building for the whole country!
How the Museum Works
The Denver Firefighters Museum is a nonprofit organization. This means it doesn't try to make money for owners. Instead, all the money it gets goes back into running the museum. It gets money from people and groups who donate, from special grants, and from selling things in its gift shop. It also earns money from programs, memberships, and ticket sales.
The museum has a small team of full-time and part-time staff members. But it also relies a lot on volunteers! More than 100 volunteers help out with many different projects every year. They donate thousands of hours to make the museum a great place to visit.
Who Visits the Museum?
Lots of people visit the Denver Firefighters Museum every year, more than 20,000! Many visitors get in for free or at a lower price thanks to special programs and partnerships. A lot of the people who visit are firefighters and their families from other states. The museum also welcomes many visitors from other countries. The outside of the museum is quite famous too. It's often included in tours that show off Denver's interesting buildings and public art.
What You Can See: The Collections
The Denver Firefighters Museum has a huge collection of things! It has more than 30,000 items, including old tools, photographs, and important papers. These items help tell the story of firefighting.
Main Level Gallery
This gallery has six main topics that show you how fire and firefighting work. You can learn about how people used to tell others about a fire, from old alarm boxes to calling 911 today. You'll see the special gear firefighters wear, like helmets and boots, and the tools they use. There are also displays of old fire trucks, from ones pulled by hand to those pulled by horses, and even early motorized trucks. You'll learn how firefighters put out fires using water and chemicals. The gallery also shows other important jobs firefighters do, not just putting out fires. Plus, you can learn about the history of Station No. 1 itself.
You can follow firefighter boot prints on the floor to find fun, hands-on activities. There are special "Fire Safety Stops" that teach important fire prevention lessons in a fun way. You can try out a 911 teaching phone, put on child-sized firefighting gear, and even slide down a children's fire pole! There's also a touch cart with real firefighting tools you can feel.
Second Floor Gallery
Upstairs, there are three more interesting topics. You can learn about how firefighters get trained and how tough it is to become one. You'll also discover some of the biggest fires that have happened in Denver's history. Finally, you can tour the living areas of the old fire station. You'll see where the firefighters slept, where the officers stayed, the locker room, bathroom, and even a family room. It's like stepping back in time!
Children’s Gallery
This gallery is made just for families to have fun and learn together. The activities here help you remember the fire safety tips you learned in other parts of the museum. You can play on computer kiosks, watch a puppet show, read books in the reading center, or watch videos. There's even a hopscotch game that teaches you about being safe with matches and lighters.
See also
- Fire Museum
