CALIFORNIA - Plaza Fire House Museum: El Pueblo De Los Angeles - Los Angeles, California

Fire hat hanging on wall of the Plaza Fire House Museum - Los Angeles, CA
Just a short walk from Los Angeles beautiful Union Station is the place where the city of Los Angeles was born with the founding of El Pueblo De Los Angeles in 1781. This beautiful square and the many interesting museums, shops and historical plaques around it tell the story of the founding of this incredible city. One of the most interesting museums however has nothing to do with the founding of the city but rather the founding and development of the Los Angeles Fire Department. This building is the Plaza Fire House Museum. Fire House #1 was built in 1884 and housed Fire Company #1. As I stood in front of the large old wooden doors of this building located on the corner of the historic plaza I imagined how it must have been when an emergency call came in. Men quartered in the upper floor of the building, upon hearing the alarm, would slide down the polished brass pole to the Ahern steam powered fire apparatus & team waiting below where the horses were stabled and then the whole ball of wax would charge out the doors of the fire station with bells ringing. According to information at the museum, it was a contest between fire companies in the early days to be first on scene. Back in the late 1800s fire was a horrible danger that leveled entire cities due to the fact that there was not sufficient infrastructure or apparatus extant to respond. This station was one of the first serious attempts to provide the citizenry with fire protection. The 2 story red brick building with a tiny bell tower on top has been beautifully preserved and there are all kinds of interesting displays, a period fire wagon and a wall covered with the helmets of the brave men and women who have gone into harms way without hesitation at a moments notice in order to protect people of the city and preserve their property. Men and women all over this country in the fire service stand ready, 24/7 & 365 to respond to a call which could put them in harms way. This blog post is dedicated to all of those brave individuals and is an opportunity for me to say thank you! If you are ever in Los Angeles, make sure you take a moment to visit Union Station, Pueblo Los Angeles and the Plaza Fire House Museum. Website is below for further information.

http://elpueblo.lacity.org/SightsSounds/HistoricStructures/Firehouse/index.htm

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