Museum FAQs
Important Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ’s are organized by section links. Click on a section to read the answers and related information pertaining to that topic.
Please note as of May 2024 the New York City Fire Museum is currently closed to the Public.
The Museum is usually open Wednesday thru Sunday from 10:00AM to 5:00 PM. We are closed on federal holidays.
The Museum is located on 278 Spring Street between Varick and Hudson Streets.
BY SUBWAY:
C or E train to Spring Street. Walk 1 1/2 blocks west.OR1 train to Houston Street. Walk south 4 blocks on Varick Street to Spring Street and west 1/2 block.
BY BUS:
M10 (7th and 8th Avenue routes) or M21 (Hudson Street cross-town route). Take either to Spring Street.
BY CAR:
From North: Take Varick St (7th Avenue) south to Houston St; make a right on Houston, left on Washington St, left on Spring St.
From West Street/Hudson River Greenway: Traveling south, make a left on Clarkson St, right on Washington St, left on Spring St.
From Brooklyn Bridge: Take Centre St N exit on left towards Chambers St, right at Centre St, left at Canal St, right at Hudson St, right at Spring From FDR: take Houston St exit head across to Washington St, left on Washington St, left on Spring.
From FDR: Take Houston St exit head across to Washington St, left on Washington St, left on Spring.
$15.00 for Adult $10.00 for Student, Senior (65+), Firefighter (outside of NYC), Person with Disability $6.00 for Youth (ages 3-17)
$3.00 for Museums for All Participants (EBT/SNAP)
The Museum gift shop offers a large variety of FDNY memorabilia and Museum exclusive items. The gift shop is open during museum hours. If you can't make it to our on-site shop, please visit our online store.
Visiting the gift shop is free of charge, but it does not grant the visitor access to the rest of the Museum.
Yes, the Museum is open to all visitors and is self-guided.
There are parking lots adjacent to the Museum and limited street parking. The Museum cannot, however, validate parking.
Visitors may use strollers throughout the building.
Planning Your Visit
Yes, the Museum is wheelchair accessible, including an elevator with access to our second floor exhibit space and restrooms on the third floor.
No. Unfortunately, we don't have adequate space for this service.
The Museum does not have a place to eat and no food or drinks are permitted on exhibit floors.
You can plan to stay at the museum approximately one hour or longer.
You can take photos and video anywhere in the Museum, checkout our elevator decked out like a FDNY fire truck! Also for life saving tips visit our Fire Safety Learning Center located on the rear of the 1st floor.
The Museum welcomes all ages to view our antique and one of a kind fire trucks and exhibits! We find that small children marvel at the big, red trucks. However, the trucks are antiques and for display only – please do not touch or climb!
The Museum is approximately a 20 minute walk or a 10 minute train ride from the World Trade Center Site. If you choose to walk from the Museum: make a left on Hudson Street, make a right onto West Broadway and make a right on Vesey Street. If you choose to take the subway: walk up Spring Street to Avenue of the Americas (aka 6th Avenue), take the Downtown E train, and get off at World Trade Center.
The Museum is about 30 minutes from Time Square by subway. To reach Times Square by subway: walk up Spring Street to Avenue of the Americas (aka 6th Avenue), take the Uptown “C” or “E” train, and get off at 42nd Street.
In and Around the Museum
The New York City Fire Museum offers Fire Safety Tours for groups ranging from 15 to 50 individuals every Wednesday through Friday at 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, and 12:30 PM.
Advance reservations are required for all groups interested in participating in a fire safety tour.
To secure your reservation and learn more about this engaging experience, please click here to learn more.
Presently the Museum does not have any scheduled tours for our visitors who speak different languages or have hearing impairments. We hope to initiate this service in the near future.
The Museum does not have a designated eating area, and we strictly prohibit food or drinks on the exhibit floors. If you're interested in hosting an event or having lunch at our facility, our third-floor space is available for rental, beginning at $350 per hour.
To arrange payment with a DOE purchase order, kindly get in touch with our Museum Bookkeeper. You can reach Ann directly via email at ann @nycfiremuseum.org.
At this time, the Museum doesn't offer private tours for groups. However, we provide a discounted rate of $10 per person for groups of 15 or more with advance reservations.
Self-guided group tours are available from Wednesday through Sunday. To schedule your group visit, please click here for more details.
Visiting As a Group
The Museum is a private, non-profit organization responsible for preserving the FDNY collection and offering fire safety education to the public. It operates out of a firehouse owned by the FDNY.
The Museum covers two exhibit floors. The first floor features modern FDNY equipment and our permanent September 11th Memorial. The second floor displays 19th-century memorabilia, ceremonial exhibits, and paintings.
We do not lend or lease any of the collection to the general public. We do, on occasion, lend objects to other Museums or organizations for limited exhibition, or for television, theater or movie production. Such loans require the approval of the Museum's Board of Trustees.
The Museum has one of the largest collections of fire-related artifacts and artwork in the world, with over ten thousand objects and an archive of tens of thousands of photographs, documents and ephemera.
This is the complete set of objects owned by the Museum, but does not apply to objects on loan to our museum from other institutions. Our permanent collection can be found in storage, on display, or on loan to other institutions.
Our collection contains thousands of objects, all of which cannot be displayed in the two exhibition floors of our building. Some of our collection is on loan to other institutions, and some of it is in storage. Certain objects, such as historic photographs, prints, and paintings, are sensitive to light and need to be kept in special conditions. Very delicate objects have special storage requirements or require conservation before going on display.
This is a temporary exhibit highlighting a particular event in the history of New York firefighting and/or showcasing artistic works related to firefighting.
If you have firefighting-related work you'd like to donate or exhibit, contact our Executive Director or Collection Manager via the Contact Us form. Please do not send unsolicited work.
The Museum does not disclose the monetary values of objects in its collections for security reasons.
The Museum can not provide monetary appraisals.
We appreciate your generosity! To donate art or artifacts, please submit an inquiry via the contact form. Note that not all items are suitable for our collection, and unsolicited works will not be accepted.
Photography and videography are allowed in the Museum so long as the images are for personal, non-commercial use. Please be mindful of other visitors, especially in the FDNY September 11th Memorial space.
Commercial photography and filming are permitted at the Museum if the project is approved and arranged in advance.
Please contact the Collections Manager using the contact form with your proposal.
We are pleased to offer the public images from our collection for a cost of $25 each. After you have selected the image from our online catalog, submit a request to our Collections Manager, you will then be directed to our online checkout.
We look forward to helping you find the perfect image!
Yes, internships are available in the collections department and can be arranged through a student's work-study program or independently. For more details, please contact the Collection Manager via the contact us form.
About the Museum
To become a Member: join online via our online shop; complete an application form and mail it along with your dues to the Membership department; stop by the Museum and join on-site; or, call (212) 691-1303 during regular Museum hours.
Benefits vary depending on the level of Membership. See a complete list of Membership benefits.
You may make a secure, fully tax-deductible donation online by clicking here or, by mailing a check made payable to the NYC Fire Museum.
Provide your name and/or address to the Museum by phone (212) 691-1303, or by sending an email via the contact us form.
Absolutely! A membership to the Museum makes any occasion special. Memberships make great birthday, graduation, wedding, anniversary, or holiday gifts for family, friends, and/or business associates. Gift memberships are available online. Gift memberships can also be purchased in person at the Fire Museum Gift Shop.
Yes. Your gift, in any amount, to honor someone special will be acknowledged with a certificate informing the person of your thoughtfulness. Gifts made commemorating the life of loved ones will be acknowledged with a certificate to the family.
Yes! The Museum offers admission passes for two adults and two children to non-profits in NYC & NJ. To request a donation, please use the contact us page and include the organization name, event name, event date, and contact person.