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Foișorul de Foc

heritage building and museum in Bucharest, Romania

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionOct 4, 2024
Entity authorityQ4687576 ↗
Source-derived summary

Foișorul de Foc (literally The Fire Tower) is a 42 metres (138 feet) high building in Bucharest, Romania, between Obor, Calea Moșilor, and Nerva-Traian. It was used in the past as an observation tower by the firemen.

In September 2024, the museum was reopened, the building having undergone restoration, starting from 2021.

Background

It was built in 1890, two years after the previous watchtower, Turnul Colței, built in 1715, was demolished. The plans were made by George Mandrea, back then the chief-architect of Bucharest.

Foișorul de Foc had a double role, as it was also designed to be a water tower, too. However, after the building was finished, the local water utility company (Uzina de Apă Grozăvești) had no pumps powerful enough to fill it with water.

Foișorul de Foc was used by the firefighters until 1935, when it became ineffective, as more and more high-rise buildings were built in Bucharest, and the introduction of the telephone reduced the need for a watchtower. In 1963, it was turned into a Firefighters' Museum.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Foișorul de Foc” as heritage building and museum in Bucharest, Romania. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2024, 2021, 1890, 1715—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1892, 1963—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. The account is most persuasive where Foișorul, heritage and building can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as heritage building and museum in Bucharest, Romania. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 4, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q4687576. Authority coordinates are 44.440, 26.121. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2024, 2021, 1890 and 1715.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Foișorul de Foc”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Foișorul de Foc primary sources, Foișorul de Foc archive and Foișorul research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Foișorul de Foc”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Foișorul de Foc” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.