Parque de Bombas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Parque de Bombas is a Puerto Rican building located in the city of Ponce. The building, contrary to what its name might lead some to believe, does not have anything to do with bombs, and is actually a famous fire station. It has been heralded both for its historical and architechtural roles in Puerto Rican society. Although Ponce is a large city by Puerto Rican city standards, when compared to other large cities, Ponce is actually small, so the station is relatively close to Mercedita Airport, Luis A. Ferre freeway and Ponce's Hilton and Holiday Inn hotels.
[edit] History
By 1882, Ponce's population, as well as that of the rest of south Puerto Rico's cities, was growing. Puerto Rico was at the time a property of Spain. Recognizing the need for a fire station, the government realized that a station had to be built in the area. A Spanish Army soldier, Lt. Colonel Maximo Meana was in Puerto Rico at the time. He also happened to be a professional architect. Madrid commissioned him to construct the Parque de Bombas. Meana proceeded to design and construct the building, which, fortunately for the people of Puerto Rico's south, was inaugurated late in 1882, in time to host that year's Puerto Rican agriculturemen convention. During the convention, the festivals participants, who were promoting their agricultural products and services to others, stayed inside the station building . The first brigade of firemen to work in the building were stationed soon after.
In 1883, a large fire threatened the lives of those living in southern Puerto Rico, as well as the economy of Puerto Rico as a whole. The firemen stationed at the Parque de Bombas engaged in a long fight with the fire, taking many days to extinguish the blaze. For that, the group had been honored many times both in Ponce and the rest of Puerto Rico. Nowadays, there is a photo of the firefighters involved in that situation hanging on the walls of the Parque de Bombas building. In 1983, the 100th anniversary of the brigade's victory over the infamous fire was commemorated at the station.
In 1885, the station went on to officially be named Ponce's fire station, thus every firefighting operation in Ponce and adjacent cities was dispatched from the Parque de Bombas. Maximo Meana, the station's arquitect, was named mayor of Ponce.
The station continued to serve the city of Ponce until 1990, lasting a total of 108 years as a fire station. Before the station itself was closed, it was converted into a museum. Of most prominence are the artifacts used by the 1882 fire brigade to combat the 1883 fire, and other artifacts of historical significance. The station became a major touristic attraction, but, even as people from all over Puerto Rico and from other countries visited each day, the station continued to operate until its closure. Many times, some of the firemen would actually volunteer and give visitors free museum tours when they were not attending to an emergency.
After the fire station was closed in 1990, the building was preserved as a museum. According to some estimates, the Ponce firefighter's museum, still known generally as Parque de Bombas, is one of Ponce's most visited sites annually.
[edit] Architecture
The Parque de Bombas building is located in what is known in Puerto Rico, Spain and most of Latin America as a town plaza. A town plaza often includes water fountains, trees, benches, a catholic church and walkways. The Parque de Bombas itself is adyacent to Ponce's downtown Catholic church, which, in turn, is, as typical of town plazas, located on Ponce's plaza.
The station-turned-museum reflects the architectural style of 1880s Spain. It is mostly made of wood, and it resembles a castle or a Spaniard mansion of that era. The station is painted with red and black stripes. Two stairs that are located on opposite sides highlight the entrance to the museum. Tourists can observe firefighting technology on the building's second floor.
The station's shape has gotten the attention of many expert architects, some of which have mentioned the building among the most important ones in Latin America.
