Denver Firefighters Museum

Denver Firefighters Museum

The Denver Firefighters Museum is housed in Historic Station No. 1, Denver Fire Department’s second Station No. 1. The building, constructed in 1909, saw Denver Fire’s change from horse-drawn fire vehicles to motorized fire vehicles in the 1920s. The department decommissioned the station in 1975 after new fire vehicles became too large for the station to house. Soon after its decommission, the Denver fire chief helped to put the building on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1978, the building reopened as the Denver Firefighters Museum to preserve and tell the history of the Denver Fire Department. The museum hosted a restaurant on the second floor until the early 1980s when the space was turned into additional exhibits. The Denver Firefighters Museum continues to preserve and tell Denver’s firefighting history along with teaching lifesaving fire safety behaviors.

The building is a prime example of the Neoclassical architecture displayed by many of Denver’s government buildings from this time. It is rectangular, two stories, with an exterior of grey brick and light sandstone and a flat roof. The front facade points northwest where two large doors for fire equipment flank a central entrance and define the two bays of the lower floor. The second floor has three bays separated by brickwork pilasters with simple bases and Corinthian capitals. The two outer bays hold two windows each, rectangular in shape with stylized lintels. The central bay has a recessed balcony behind a round arch held by double pilasters with a balustrade between. Two smaller windows sit to either side and porthole windows sit symmetrically further out. A decorative cornice at the roofline features brackets and a dentil frieze. The entire face of the building is symmetrical, so that the entrance is centered under the keystone of the balcony arch and again at the central bracket of the cornice.

The original interior held space for fire wagons and horse stalls in the front of the first level and a washroom in the rear. The second floor was a dormitory and, before motorization of the company, a hay loft. When large trucks replaced the horses and wagons, new footings were added to support the increased weight. The inside now holds artifacts, documents and photographs. Old equipment has been restored and is on display. In addition to preserving historically significant items, the museum also focuses on educating the public about fire safety and fire prevention.

Site Specifics:

The Denver Firefighters Museum is offering free days on Friday September 26 and Saturday September 27, 2025.

References
Museum Mission and Vision Statements. Retrieved from https://denverfirefightersmuseum.org/missionand-history
Noel, Thomas J. &Wharton, Nicholas J. (2016). Denver Landmarks and Historic Districts Second Edition. Boulder, Colorado: University Press of Colorado.
National Register of Historic Places, Fire Station No. 1, Denver, Denver County, Colorado, National Register #79000586.

Download this site description here.