Discover century-long legacy of firefighting at Aurora Regional Fire Museum

Illinois,
© 2012 Group Tour Media
January 9, 2012

The Central Fire Station in Aurora, Ill., opened with great acclaim in 1894, 23 years after Mrs. O’Leary’s cow may or may not have sparked the Great Chicago Fire.

Today, the fire station is home to the Aurora Regional Fire Museum, a museum dedicated to firefighting.

Rather typical of Victorian architecture, the museum’s building was a source of community pride. A local architect designed the bay windows, decorative cornice and the onion dome.

 The Aurora Fire Department occupied the building for about a century, with the building having changed to keep up with the changing times.

After the two-story fire station fell into disuse, a group organized to save the building. For the past two decades, the City of Aurora and Aurora Fire Station Preservation Corporation worked to restore the building.

The museum’s collection currently includes more than 1,000 artifacts and 2,000 photographs. Seven pieces of firefighting apparatus are part of the collection, and three others are on loan. 

The museum is open Thursday through Saturday to 1 to 4 p.m. Group tours for 10 or more people along with guided tours and educational programs can also be scheduled, said curator David Lewis, who works along side executive director Deborah Davis.

“We do tailor educational programs about architecture, the Chicago fire and other topics,” she said. 

On the main floor is an exhibit titled “Getting There, Getting Water, and Getting Rescued” focusing on 150 years of tools and technology for 
fighting fires.

A second exhibit, “Museums Un-Crated” is 
an inside look at how and why
 museums collect, use and preserve items. It was born as an answer to frequently asked questions about rare objects transferred from The Smithsonian’s Museum of American History to the Aurora Regional Fire Museum.

“There are some fabulous large-scale models here,” said Lewis. “We use those 18 items to describe how we collect pieces and how museums operate.”

Lewis said many visitors enjoy seeing a once-important feature of the old firehouse: the 55-foot-tall hose stall. After the hose was in use, the firefighters needed a way to ensure it would dry.

“It was just like the towel rack in your bathroom,” said Lewis. “It’s just everyone’s favorite part of the tour.”

The museum expects to open a new exhibit about the Great Chicago Fire in early 2012.

Located 35 minutes west of Chicago and the second most populous city in Illinois, Aurora offers an opportunity to add to a Windy City itinerary or spend an entire trip discovering the Fox River Valley.

The Aurora Regional Fire Museum can be reached by phone at (630) 892-1572.

 

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