Columbia Firehouse, 109 S. St. Asaph St.
Thursday, January 31, 5-7 p.m.
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Join the Friendship Firehouse Museum this Thursday to celebrate the end of Virginia’s Top 10 Endangered Artifacts contest. Right now, the carriage is locked in a race for a $3,000 grant to be used to restore the carriage from its current state in the top image to what paint analysis tells us it looked like originally. The celebration will be at Columbia Firehouse, 109 S. St. Asaph St. Light refreshments will be provided and drinks will be available for purchase. But don’t wait until Thursday to vote! You can vote every 24 hours.
Long fire hoses on carriages were a technological innovation in the 19th century, replacing bucket brigades. The Friendship Fire Company’s hose reel carriage was made in coachmaker and Friendship member Robert F. Prettyman’s shop on North Pitt Street. The public is invited to vote for the hose carriage in Virginia’s Top 10 Endangered Artifact online competition through January 31. Vote for the 1858 Prettyman Hose Carriage at https://www.vamuseums.org/virginias-top-10-endangered-artifacts. The two artifacts receiving the most votes during the competition will be recognized as the People’s Choice Awards and receive $4000 and $3000 respectively to conserve their artifacts.
