Parque de Bombas: The Old Ponce Fire Station

One of Ponce’s most recognizable landmarks is Parque de Bombas , the city’s onetime firehouse edifice as well as instantly a firefighting museum. This brightly colored ruddy as well as dark candy striped edifice , located at the Plaza Las Delicias town foursquare , direct behind the Ponce Cathedral , was Puerto Rico's get-go e'er burn downward station.

The edifice was built inwards 1882 , originally every bit the top dog demo pavilion dedicated to agricultural as well as industrial exhibits for the 1882 Exhibition Trade Fair. It was designed yesteryear a Castilian regular army officeholder , who also happened to locomote a professional person architect. Made to a greater extent than oftentimes than non out of woods , Parque de Bombas draws influence from Moorish as well as Gothic Victorian architecture , as well as consist of a large as well as opened upward primal infinite flanked yesteryear 2 lateral towers , 2 stories inwards height. The opened upward infinite was used every bit garage facilities for the burn downward trucks , as well as the 2 towers every bit living quarters as well as exhibition areas. An elegant primal two-sided stairway alongside elaborated kind Fe railing leads to a mezzanine expanse used every bit administrative offices.

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Photo credit: Jose DeJesus/Flickr

The edifice came into utilisation every bit a burn downward station inwards 1883 when a massive burn downward threatened to engulf the urban inwardness , as well as volunteer firefighters started operating from the building. The firefighters fought the burn downward for several days before it could locomote extinguished. At that fourth dimension , Puerto Rico didn’t bring a permanent firefighting force. Its firefighters were drawn from citizens volunteering for the service.

The importance as well as necessity of a burn downward service was felt yesteryear Ponce’s Castilian Governor Miguel De La Torre inwards 1823. Three years before a large burn downward had occurred inwards Ponce that virtually destroyed the town. Deeply concerned yesteryear the lack of a burn downward service , Miguel De La Torre made it mandatory for every manly mortal betwixt xvi as well as sixty years to locomote a volunteer firefighter. Firefighters at this fourth dimension had to supply their ain fire-fighting tools such every bit picks , shovels , as well as buckets. Unfortunately , i time Governor De La Torre left his post service , the burn downward corps was also abandoned.

When around other major burn downward occurred inwards 1845 , Conde de Marisol , the as well as hence ruler of the isle , i time once to a greater extent than created a novel voluntary fire-fighting organization. The burn downward fighting forcefulness was reorganized inwards a to a greater extent than permanent trend inwards 1883 , merely it wasn’t until 1885 that Parque de Bombas became Ponce's official burn downward station —a utilisation which it served for to a greater extent than than 100 years.

In 1990 , the station's fire-fighting duties were fully transferred to around other nearby station , as well as the edifice was converted into a fire-fighting museum. Today , you lot volition notice exhibits of firefighting equipment as well as memorabilia from the burn downward station including pictures of the heroic men who fought the 1883 fire.

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