PoCo Muse exhibit to recall 1926 downtown Valpo fire
A new exhibit at the Porter County Museum recalls the fire that swept downtown Valparaiso in 1926.
The collection of historic photographs bears witness to the 1926 blaze that destroyed the Academy of Music and the rest of the block at the southwest corner of Lincolnway and Washington Street in Valparaiso.
“In terms of serious injury, property destruction, and loss of life, the Academy of Music blaze was perhaps the most eventful of several twentieth-century fires that occurred on Valparaiso’s courthouse square, each playing a significant role in shaping the downtown’s past and present,” said Executive Director Kevin Pazour. “The three-story brick-and-stone building, built in 1864, housed a variety of enterprises during its sixty-two-year history, including the city’s premier theater space, the masonic temple and numerous shops and business offices.”
The exhibit in the local history museum at 20 Indiana Ave. in the former Aster + Grey boutique space is free and open to the public.
“These images from nearly a century ago capture the drama of the event, as firefighters battled an enormous conflagration during extreme winter conditions,” said Jake Just, the museum’s Director of Exhibits and Publications. “This was the last fire in the city that tragically ended in the death of firefighters; two lost their lives that night. After the flames were finally extinguished, a thick shroud of ice wreathed the ruins.”
The exhibition is hanging in the Robert Cain Gallery and will run through May 12.
“Visitors interested in the history of downtown Valpo’s impactful fires, can take a self-guided fire-history tour beginning just outside the museum at any time,” Pazour said. “A downloadable guide filled with lots of information about five major fires is available on the museum’s website: pocomuse.org/special-publications.”
The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
For more information, visit pocomuse.org or find the museum on Facebook or Instagram.
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