Wisconsin herald, and Grant County advertiser. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1844-1845, 1845-08-02
TERRIBLE FIRE IN THE HEART
OF NEW YORK 300 STORES AND
BUILDINGS BURNT..

We hasten 10 lay before our readers, The
mos, interesting items received by us of this
awful fre--ihe most destructive experienced
in New York since the great FIRE in the win
Ter of 1885. The fire broke out on Saturday,
the I9Ih Of July, about 3 O'Clock in The morn
ing, at No. "a New street, about three doors
from the corner Of Exchange Place. in sperm
oil store, belonging TO ]. l.. Vandoren. II
then spread to q chair factory, The next door
towards Exchange Place; then through TO
Broad street and TO the corner Of Exchange
Place, where il communicated TO building
occupied by Messrs Croker and Warren.
who either had large quantity of saIipeire on
storage, or some worse combosiible material,
for IN fifteen minutes after it caught fire, the
whole blew up with a tremendous explosion.
carrying six or seven buildings with il, and
shaking The whole city like an earthquake -
The concussion was 30 great as 10 smash more
than half a million panes Of glass in the neigh.
/ borhood. TO the extent Of 200 yards distant
Immediately after the explosion fire was dis
covered at four different points showing that
The entire block in the rear was in complete
blaze.
The area swept over. the Herald thus de.
scfibes On The east side OF Broadway, IL
commences with the great establishment, the
Waverly Hotel. On the corner Of New St.
which is utterly destroyed, and from this poin,
southwark TO Markeifeld street below the
/ Bowling Green, and for three or four houses
On Whitehall street. every house is destroyed.
I This line is about quarter Of a mile in length.
and the number Of buildings is about forty -five
or fifty. including two among the most spen.
did hotels 10 the city. the rest consisting Of
stores and dwellings,. The Adelph House on
the corner Of Beaver street, was six stories
10 height, and was one of The ornaments Of that
ancien, part Of the city. IL is level with the
GROUND.
The fire then proceeded eastward along the
middle Of the block between Marketfeld and
Stone. until il bursted into Stone street, al the
great storage warehouse, whose destruction we
have described. Il then proceeded along Stone
street TO Broad, and crossed Broad, consuming
both sides Of The way: the cas-, line Of The burnt
dis,ric, passes along the rear of the stores on
the west side of South William street to Elk.
change street. On Exchange street the FIRE
/ approached close 10 the south ives, corner of
the new Exchange. The fire crossed Ex-
change street. Kidding the dry goods ware
houses in its course. and approached the rear
OF the Wall street banks, and came into Broad
street, at the iron warehouse OF Davis, Brooks
a. Go.
| IL here crossed Broad street again. Just be-
low tho vast store houses belonging TO the gov.
ernisoni, which happily escaped. and then fol-
| lowed up Exchange street, 10 its junction with
Broadway, al the Waverly Honse, the point
al which II began TO trace it's ranges. The
space thus bounded is not partially burnt, but
II is one blackened mass Of wreck, We have
/ never seen destruction more lamentabe or COM
pleie. |, WINS nearly all covered, with The ex.
cep,ion Of the dwelling houses on Broadway,
with The larges, iron and dry goods establish.
m.nis in the city. On the opposite side Of
Broadway, nj the head of Bowling Green.
three or four Of the largest and fines, dwelling
houses in the city caught a, about six o'clock.
aud were wholly destroyed. but fortunately
the fire. was checked before It spread to Green
witch street. The inside Of perhaps three or
four fine buildings on this side Of the street
were ruined, besides those quite consumed.
The sight around the environs Of the FIRE.
as we'll as within the space burnt over, was
notwithstanding. The families Of a, leas, fifty
houses on Broadway. both sides Of Greenwich
streets, and Battery Place, bad been turned
into the street. with their furniture. through
dread Of their houses being burned over their
heads. Broadway. at that part where both
sides were burning. is a, least one hundred
and fifty feet wide, yet so Intense was the hea,
10 The middle Of the street. that for a hundred
yards, no, even the daring fremen coud.ven-
,uro upon the burning pavemant
INCIDENTS. ACCIDENTS, &c.
| The panic among the merchants on William,
Pearl, and the lower part Of Exchange streets. on
the cas-, side of the coniag, aion equally great,
aud We suppose that one hundred stores were emp
tied of their goods prodig'ous expense and loss,
which wee no, reached by the FIRE. Vast amounts
Of valuable goods were lost by being deluged with
water.
The stencil Of the city was so g,eat, caused by
the burning Of spirits, oil, and every eombustibls
matter, that u was offensive 10 those approaching
Fac.
The city from the Bay presented n vas, sublime
sight. Spectators heheld IL in silence. Il seemed
II all the city was IN flames. The sheet OF FIRE
aud smoke aseeaded TO the eloods.
la Rrooklyn many of the inhabitants felt their
houses rock to the very foundation. One genileman
who was watching the fire from Brooklyu heights,
the blazing fragments blown into the air, above
the spire OF Trinity church, two hundred and sixty
feet and over. lie says that they in circular
iotn, like n bow, increasing th-ir circle both
they rose aud Tell. Some say that the spire Of
Trinuy shook Cor nearly minute after the explo-
sion we don't know how this may be, but
after all, that we do know, IL does not seem at all
Incredible.
The lerry beats were carrying farniture TO Brook
lyn throughout the day, add We several Of the