Elegance and Pride on Display

​

Parades were a popular form of public entertainment and, beginning with the July 4th celebration of 1824, volunteer firemen’s anticipation became particularly prominent. Each volunteer fire company took great pride in the festive appearance of its banners, machines and uniforms. This exhibit features four apparatus in parade formation and the beautifully decked out Steinway hose carriage. The elegant machines are surrounded by celebratory artifacts, including a Brooklyn volunteer fire department banner, paintings on wood panels that once adorned pumpers, decorative plaques used to embellish apparatus on parade, lanterns and torches that lit up parades, and ribbons, festive belts, hats and helmets worn by the marchers.