Baltimore City Fire Museum (Engine House No. 6)

Housed in the historic Engine No. 6 building, the Baltimore City Museum preserves and shares the history of fire fighting in Baltimore with exhibits of historic fire engines and fire fighting apparatus and equipment, helmets, and memorabilia. An organization of ex-auxiliary firefighters called the Box 414 Association established the museum in 1979. The building itself was erected in 1854. Its most prominent feature is the 103-foot tower, whose design is believed to have been inspired by Giotto's Campanile, a bell tower in Florence, Italy, designed by painter and architect Giotto di Bondone. The Engine House tower features pointed arches, a three-sided clock, and a wooden cornice supporting a balustrade at the top. The museum is closed as of April 2023.

Engine House No. 6 was originally the home of a volunteer firefighting organization called the Independent Fire Company, which was established in 1799. Architects Reasin and Weatherald designed it, and it was the company's second (or perhaps third) building. Baltimore established its fire department in 1858 and bought Engine House No. 6 in 1859 for $8,000. Its fire fighting apparatus was a steam engine that weighed 8,600 pounds and was named the "Deluge." Although the fire department had been established, firefighters were not paid until 1893. Until then, bells summoned volunteers, who were named "callmen," to fire stations. Bells were then given away to churches. However, the Engine House kept its bell.

During the Great Fire of 1904, which, thanks to the effort of firefighters, did not reach the east side of the city, the second floor of the Engine House became a makeshift hospital for injured firefighters. The Engine House remained an active fire station until 1976. It was the oldest, continuously used fire station in the country when it closed. The Box 414 Association acquired it in 1979. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

"The Baltimore City Fire Museum." Box 414 Association. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://box414assoc.com/museum.

Black, C. & McClellan, A. "Engine House No. 6." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. June 18, 1973. https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-177.pdf.

"History of the Box 414 Association." Box 414 Association. Accessed April 14, 2023. https://box414assoc.com/about/history.