American LaFrance 500/600 Series: Photo Archive

The 1930s was the decade of style – an era of streamlining and bold, futuristic art deco design that influenced the look of everything from jewelry, furniture and skyscrapers to locomotives, ships, automobiles, and Fire engines. Calendar year 1938 was an epochal one for new product development by America’s largest manufacturer of motor fire apparatus, as the company introduced its first hydraulically-operated all-steel aerial ladder along with the industry’s first compact, cab-forward aerial …