Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum

Anne-Marie and I took a short drive to Bay City, Michigan yesterday.  We didn’t have any plan, other than look at the town and to look at the bay.  As we entered into the city, one building really was a standout, the City Hall clock tower.  We circled a few blocks to get a closer look at the great and large stone building, and when we were in front of steps to the main doors, the doors were barricaded off, and as we drove around the block, we saw that all doors were blocked, and the signs said that the building is closed. 

After little research, I found the story, a fire in 2010 on the 4th floor, and now there is a restoration effort in progress.  I found this picture from a local news site, and it shows fire trucks still in place.

We were on the way to get a view of the water, and I passed a few signs pointing to the  Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum, and the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum, and The Firehouse Museum was the first we found. 

The first room inside the front door was the NASCAR room with 1000 or so model race cars lining the walls surrounding the 2001 Monte Carlo Pace Car displayed in the center of the room.

The rooms and displays from here on were a blend of toys and fire house stuff and fire trucks, The toys were arraigned by theme, color, manufacture and size. 

The first room had the oldest carts and trucks displayed, and the first hose cart in the lineup looks to be a close cousin to our old hose cart at the Parkdale Fire Hall.  Our guide told us that there were several other carts out back in another building.  All of the toys in this room are fire trucks and firehouse vehicles.

Handmade toy fire trucks, not meant to be played with, and more fire trucks, and some of these have seen some use.

Another room with rows and rows of cars and trucks.

Tonka toys, cars, trucks, and excavation equipment, just numbing, the amount to look at.  The Tonka Toy company folks believe that this is the largest private collection of Tonka Toys.

The Betty Boop collection, and a string of riding pedal cars, all but one a fire truck.

The owner of the museum, for many years was a local attraction himself, he was a clown in many parades, and used many small old cars and carts in his acts.

No shortage of old trucks to look at, and the toys just go on…

Most of the trucks are retired locally used trucks from around Michigan, but some are from out of the state.  This front mounted pump is on a 1931 fire truck, and I don’t fully understand all that I have seen here.

The Super Pumper from the New York City Fire Department.  This truck required 15 firefighters per shift to operate it, and it could pump over 8000 gal per minute, and draw from 8 sources of water, and feed 8 fire trucks up to a mile away.  The pump was powered by an engine that was big enough to power a train, or something really big.

Over 60 fire trucks on display, and around 20,000 toys to look at, made for a numbing visit.  A lot of information, almost enough for three museums here.

We had a early dinner at this restaurant, Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza.