Plaza Firehouse

Stopped by, and was not disappointed! Gentleman gave a nice explanation of what was imported, and what was kept, and how they gathered the items to fill this place up. We talked about the history of the firehouse and the entire "Sonora Town" area for a bit, and it was really cool! So glad they still have a giant Thomas Guide hanging on the wall! Granted, the firehouse was closed before the Thomas Bros started printing maps, but it's still cool! I was told that tours are done by a volunteer docent, but ONLY on Thursdays 10am-2pm, which will get you access to the upstairs location! So I definitely want to come back and check that out. It really makes you appreciate how far fire fighting has come technology-wise, but also from a volunteer force to having paid professionals that have to go through rigorous training.

Neat staple of history and memorial for those who came before us and served as heroes! The individual who was overseeing the place was very knowledgeable and outgoing. The upstairs was unfortunately closed which contained additional things to see including the fire pole.

Love this place, not always open, but so much history and amazing photos inside, wish you could go upstairs but understandable why you can’t. Very old beautiful fire station. Friendliest nicest staff, beautiful young lady who was full of information on the whole Pueblo. Highly recommend and will return.!

Hidden in plain sight. Small but informative FREE museum of Los Angeles firefighter history. Probably not worth paying the ridiculous parking fee in the area just to visit this one place, but definitely worth a stop if you are already in the area. You can pretty much look at everything in there in about 30min but the staff is super friendly and they encourage you to ask questions. There are a few other small museums around which can fill your afternoon with, and definitely lots of food in the area.

Very cool spot. Can be easily overlooked But a must stop! Incredible piece of history

Very interesting! Los Angeles: first firehouse had old equipment and interesting artifacts along with old photos.

Constructed in 1884, Old Plaza Firehouse is the oldest fire station in Los Angeles, but only operated as such for 13 years. Since 1960 it has been a museum, a California Historical Landmark, and a must-see for those who want to learn more about firefighting in Los Angeles or anyone who loves tiny, historical museums.

No tickets needed, free admission

This is a small museum housed inside the oldest firehouse of the city of LA. It is a historic building dating 1884, close to Olivera Street, very easy to find. I discovered it just by walking around the area. Free museum to visit, small, but lots to learn about the firefighters and their workduring the decades. A decent number of photos and various artifacts on display. Laid back, not crowded. Open Tuesday- Sunday from 10 am to 3 pm near El Pueblo. Interesting, informative, always something new to learn about the city.

Great place to learn history! This place has multiple showings per day and it's a great learning experience for students or anyone that's looking to learn about LA history. Check out the tour times to make sure you get a guided tour so that you get the full experience. The little museum has lots of cool firefighting artifacts. You won't want to miss this chance to learn about history.

The Admission: FREE!! But they do take donations. The Museum: It is a very small museum but informative. One of the museums near Olvera Street. There is always on staff on duty in case you have any questions regarding the museum. If you are shopping & dining on Olvera Street, come & check it out. It is FREE!

An informative exhibit that makes you appreciate the sacrifices of so many firefighters throughout our city's history! I highly recommend going!

Stopped by while waiting for our walking tour next door. The firehouse gives a glimpse of how a historic firehouse looked like. 4 horse stables with a huge turntable in the middle of the firehouse to turn the carriage around. There are so many vintage fire helmets on the wall. It's small but it's full of history. It's worth stopping by. Yelp.Com/list/yelp-100-challenge.

The Plaza Firehouse museum is a small, yet free museum. I'd probably rate it a 3 due to how small it is, but I've recently committed to not give any free museum less than a 4 (unless there was something wrong). The man who worked there was very nice and informative. If you want the full experience, come on a Thursday when they have two workers and one of them brings you upstairs! We missed that part, but I bet it's super cool. There are definitely cool things here, just not a ton. While I wouldn't make a day trip to the area just for this museum, this area is CERTAINLY worth a day trip! My toddler and I literally visited 6 museums! There are small museums all around here and almost all of them are free! Start your journey with a walk down Olvera Street! Catch the Avila Adobe, maybe have lunch or a snack. Then walk across the way and visit The Chinese American Museum, the Plaza Firehouse Museum and the new Gateway to Nature (which is a nature center full of things for kids to do). Then walk across the street to La Plaza De Culturas y Artes museum. Maybe poke your head into Our Lady of Angeles Church. I'm very Atheist, but this is historic as it's literally what named and started Los Angeles. Then continue down Main street and hit up the American Tropical Historical Museum and end with the Italian American Museum! There are a few other things in there too I think I missed. A great day!

The Old Plaza Firehouse is the oldest firehouse in Los Angeles and during his existence this building had quite an interesting story. Not only was it home of the first documented Italian immigrant in LA, the Sardinian native Giovanni Leandri, it also served as a saloon, a cheap boarding house, a cigar store and, allegedly, a house of ill repute after becoming a cheap drugstore. The State of California purchased this then badly deteriorated building in 1953 and has restored it to its former glory. Today it is possible to visit this museum dedicated to the fire department history in LA, which is also a California Historical Landmark. This building is an important part of Los Angeles history and makes for a great weekend outing with family and friends.

Another FREE museum in the downtown / Chinatown area. Nothing much besides a really old fire truck and some old water dispensers. Looking at the previous guy's review...I wonder which came first...his or this review...interesting... http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2812752-old_plaza_firehouse_los_angeles-i Ahh whatever...it's free, you get to take pictures of some really cool and old fire fighting equipment. Lots of pictures on the walls of this old brick housed station. If you have kids, bring them along. All kids love fire trucks. Although you really can't touch anything. Just looky..no touchy...but still, being able to stand in one of the oldest fire stations in Los Angeles gives a pretty good feeling, that you got to see some of the history in person.

A nice little stop near Olvera Street. I spent just a few minutes there, as it is small and a vintage fire truck takes up most of the space. They also have an old fire engine towards the rear of the museum. There are also several pictures and artifacts to look at, and a friendly docent if you have any questions. To make the most of you trip, you should also visit the Chinese American Museum, which is located directly behind this museum and Ávila Dobe Museum, on Olvera Street. All are free admission. There is metered parking nearby and a few cash-only lots as well.

I stumbled upon The Old Plaza Firehouse while strolling through the plaza at Olvera St. It sits in an old brick building built in 1884 as a firehouse for the Los Angeles area. It is LA's very first firehouse. Now, it is a cool museum showcasing firefighting equipment and interesting photos of different fire stations of the 19th century around the country. It is an interesting site if you are in the downtown area and want to do something different. Admission is free and guided tours are provided. There is a donation box so make sure you drop a couple of bucks in there.

This is part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Mnument. You know, the one we all know as "Olvera Street." They have a bunch of historical buildings here in Olvera Street and this is one of them., LA City's first ever building designed for fire peeps and equipment. Kinda cool. They have photos old photos. I love those. You can see what the firetrucks were way back when. You know, before the firetrucks cost taxpayers $7,000 per hour to operate. Yikes! Maybe these firemen shouldn't use the trucks to go grocery shopping and have meals if it cost that much. Yikes again!

Charming, brick firehouse built during America's Gilded Age that's now free to walk around and tour from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. It's so well-preserved, and with its doors wide open daily, it's comparable to visiting the fake firehouse in Disneyland's Main Street USA. If you're in the area for Olvera Street, be it to check out the galleries, shop, eat, or watch the Aztec dancers that sometimes just show up to perform at random, it's worth taking the extra steps to visit the firehouse with its collection of old fire hats, photos, and the horse-drawn carriage within.

A nice piece of LA history! This small firehouse takes you back to the 1870s when the city was completely different. Thank you LA for preserving this wonderful structure! Also a friendly docent helped direct us to other local museums to visit.

It is essentially just a small little area that has some cool old photographs and a couple old pieces of fire equipment with an old firetruck. Not really sure you need a tour for it. I like old buildings and photographs so it was cool for me. But it only takes all of like 15 minutes or so. Definitely just something to do while you are in the area and have other things planned as well. Not a final destination or anything.

Yay! Another free place to visit. But be a good guy and kick a few bucks into their donation box... This is a neat little fire station museum with an old rig and lots of old equipment. Check out the helmets on the wall... It's maybe fifteen minutes of effort to see everything but it's really cool. We shot a few pics of the kids near the gear, explored the station and were outta there in, I think exactly, fifteen minutes. But I have to say it was a well spent visit to see all the neat old pic's and odds and ends they have collected there. There's a docent who gives tours and answers questions. Be sure not to touch anything: they'll make a point of saying something ;-)