Sofiankatu Street Museum, Helsinki

The Sofiankatu Street Museum is a wonderful piece of living history in an open air setting. This street is located in the center of the city and is one of the oldest streets there. On the 450th anniversary of Helsinki the street was refurbished in sections to show how street lighting has improved over the centuries.

At the beginning of the open air museum, the streets are unlit and the streets are cobblestone. Lighting of the streets progresses to gas lamps and then finally the electric lights that circa 1930. The paving of the street also improves as the lamps improve. There are also a few other items that would have been found in the normal city streets of the time such as mail drop boxes and water fountains. Pay phone boxes are also present and the phone even works.

It is unfortunate that not many items have survived over the centuries, but the items that are there are fun to see. This is not the usual museum; it is interesting to see the progress in a real environment. The Sofiankatu Street museum is located at number 4 and is a part of the Helsinki City Museum.