Hot Air Balloon Inflation and Fire Department Carriage

Hot Air Balloon Inflation and Fire Department Carriage

A fire carriage sits close to a hot air balloon, which lays on its side as a crowd gathers. There are buildings in the distant background. Ballooning was not an uncommon sight in the late 1890s and early 1900s. For example, on August 20, 1899, Madame Louise De Leon, wife of local Professor Hoffman, ascended from Harlem Park several hundred feet above the ground before parachuting down. Unfortunately, she landed in the Rock River and had to be rescued. This photograph may have been taken in either Harlem or Fairgrounds Park. Similar depictions can be found in photos 90.5.50 and 90.5.45.

circa 1895 - 1905

Midway Village Museum

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Still Image

90.5.38

Glass Plate Negative

4" x 5"