New York State Museum

The New York State Museum, located in the capital city of Albany, New York, is a major research and educational institution. It is a research museum, one of a select and vital group of institutions charged by our society with both preserving and investigating the material record of our past. It is the only such institution which takes New York State, its natural and cultural heritage, as its mandate. One of the on-going exhibits, Metropolis Hall, traces the history of New York City and its environs as the natural harbor transforms into a bustling port, open spaces into canyons of skyscrapers and a wilderness into a world city. It includes a yellow cab taxi among other artifacts. Also there is a Fire Engine Hall: two centuries of fire apparatus form the core of the firefighting collection at the New York State Museum. With hand engines, steam engines, motor pumpers, a hose cart, a parade carriage, and an aerial and water tower, most significant types of firefighting equipment are on display. Some of the pieces represent the products of important New York apparatus manufacturers such as Lysander Button, Clapp and Jones and the American-LaFrance Company.