Fire Trucks and More! An Indiana Region trip to Lafayette, IN
Stop 1: Five Points Fire Station Museum, 1551 Main Street, Lafayette, IN
10 – 11 am ET | No cost for members
This 90+ year-old building is new again as a fire station museum. The building has been restored to its 1937 heyday and will house a 1937 Ahrens-Fox fire truck that made runs from the station for more than 36 years. Inside you’ll be able to see what it was like to be a firefighter in the 1930s at the station as well as try on firefighter coats and helmets. There are display rooms dedicated to fire toys, fire tools and extinguishers and nozzles. A remaining room is restored as a bedroom as it looked in the 1930s. For the history buffs, there is a plethora of photos, documents, newspaper clippings, run ledgers and memorabilia on display that tell the history of the fire department in Lafayette.
Stop 2: Fowler House Mansion, 909 South St, Lafayette, IN
fowlerhouse.org | 11:30 am – 1:30 pm ET | You purchase your own selections
Lunch and tour of the house considered one of the finest examples of a large Gothic Revival residence still standing in the United States. The house was built by Moses Fowler in 1851–1852. Fowler originally came to Lafayette in 1839 from Circleville, Ohio with his friend and business partner John Purdue (founder of Purdue University) and engaged in the dry goods business. Upon his death in 1889, aged 74, Fowler had accumulated an estimated $3 million fortune.
Stop 3: John Gambs Classic Cars and Fire Truck Collection, Lafayette, IN 47909
2:00 – 4:00 pm ET
Optional Stop: Haan Museum of Indiana Art, 920 E State Street, Lafayette, IN 47905
Haanmuseum.org | 1:00 – 4:00 pm ET | Admission: $10/adult
The Haan Museum is three museums in one, all housed in a mansion that served as the Connecticut Building at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. The Museum is known for its outstanding collection of historic Indiana paintings, including the best works by T.C. Steele. Currently artwork by the Richmond Group is exhibited. We also display hundreds of Indiana ceramics – including tables, chairs, figural works, and architectural forms as well as bronze and stone sculptures and glass. A major collection of massive antique American furniture adds to the homey feel.