Off the Bricks

The 1852 Hunt · STOP 03 · Downtown Crossing

The first boxes had a crank, and people turned it according to how excited they were.

Boston's first alarm boxes had cranks, and the 1889 fire department history says people turned them 'fast or slow, backward or forward, according to the degree of excitement' they were in. On the night of the Great Fire, a second blaze broke out at this Downtown Crossing corner after midnight, and a fire chief from Fall River held it until daylight. The corner is still there, crowds and all.

This is stop 3 of The 1852 Hunt. Walk it free in the app.

The plate

Turn the Crank Slowly

Collected on site

01020304050607080910111213
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Directions

1

The crank's replacement, the 'sector' box started by one pull on a hook, was tried out in 1864 and ordered for every box on December 11, 1868, a 1997 history of the system says.

More footnotes on the story card, in the app.

Argue about it

How many bells did Boston wire into its fire alarm telegraph in 1852?

Both sides, with their sources, are on the story card in the app.

Fire alarm box, Then and now, Works after dark

In these collections: After Dark

Near Downtown Crossing · Near Park Street · Near Chinatown · Near Boylston · Near Government Center · Near State · Near South Station

Sources (7)