HOUSTON — A 125-year-old historic gem is back open after a nearly $6 million facelift. Houston's old fire station No. 7-turned-museum welcomed its first visitors back.
In 1899, some of the first of Houston's bravest used the building as home base, protecting the city from fires with the basics. Now, it's the Houston Fire Museum.
"It’s beautiful. It’s changed quite a bit," said retired firefighter James Godlove.
Godlove worked as a Houston firefighter from 1978 until 2003 and then volunteered in this building up until the pandemic.
"Firefighters, you don’t do it for the money. You do it to save lives," he said.
It's those brave ones who are recognized here; their essence embedded in the wood, their stories on the walls, and their memories in the items.
"It's not all glory that comes with it," said Houston Fire Museum board member Tom McDonald.
McDonald said nearly $6 million gave this space a top-level revamp, removing old stucco to expose the original brick facade, restoring original windows, flooring and ceiling, improving accessibility and adding central air conditioning.
"The most important thing that we do here as far as I’m concerned, is educating the public about fire safety," McDonald said.
This is a place packed with history, even as exhibits are being prepared to move back. But it's always a place for firefighter hopefuls.
"It's what firefighters do. It’s still a very dangerous job," Godlove said.
And those like Godlove, who already know what it's like...
"I was in recruiting after 9/11," he said. "We had tons of people come in and say I want to be a firefighter."
The museum, which is at 2403 Milam Street, will be open to the public from 10:30 a.m. through 3:30 p.m. Tickets are free, but reservations are required. We checked Saturday morning and the grand opening was sold out, but you can check back for more opportunities to head out to the museum.