Firehouse Museum, Hoboken, Bezoekersgids & wat te doen in de buurt

The Firehouse Museum at 213 Bloomfield Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, is a former volunteer firehouse that now serves as a small museum of firefighting history. It dates from the years when Hoboken relied on volunteer firemen, and it is run by the Hoboken Historical Museum. It is a short, easy stop on a walk through the city.

The story behind it

In the 1880s Hoboken had an all-volunteer fire department, and this building served as the headquarters for the city's exempt firemen. The name comes from a perk of the job: volunteers who completed their service were exempted from certain civic duties in recognition of the risks they took on behalf of their neighbours.

Hoboken has several historic firehouses, and some have since become private homes or been put to other uses. This one was turned into a museum, which means you can see the inside of a working-era firehouse rather than just admire the outside. It is looked after by the Hoboken Historical Museum, which has its own main site on Hudson Street and is worth a visit if the local story interests you.

What to look for

• Study the building from the sidewalk and notice how it reads as a firehouse rather than an ordinary townhouse, a reminder of the civic pride put into these buildings.
• Inside, look at the firehouse memorabilia on display, which gives a sense of how volunteer firefighting worked before a professional department took over.
• Think about the word exempt on the history panels and in the story of the building, and what it says about how the city rewarded volunteers.
• Look at the surrounding blocks of Bloomfield Street, where the scale of the rowhouses shows what the neighbourhood was like when the firemen answered the bell.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about 20 to 30 minutes inside; it is a compact museum, so it fits easily into a longer walk.
• The museum has been open on weekend afternoons, but schedules change, so check current opening hours before you go.
• If you enjoy the visit, continue to the Hoboken Historical Museum on Hudson Street for the wider story of the city.
• Hoboken is compact and walkable, so you can combine the museum with the waterfront or a coffee stop on the way.

See it on a quest

The Firehouse Museum is one of the places you can reach on foot on Shadows of Hoboken: The Syndicate Files, a self-guided quest through the city. You walk from stop to stop with your phone, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. It is a good way to see Hoboken's streets with a purpose instead of just ticking off a list. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever suits you, with no guide and no set departure time.