The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-10-07
DESTRUCTION or THE CRYSTAL pAL,c
RAPID SPREAD OF THE FLAMES AND HElvy
LOSS.
Tron lhe New YorE HeraId, ool. o

The Crystal Palace the scene Of SO many of the Or,
public demonstrations which have taken place in this 49,
of late years totally destroyed last evening BY A.
and the site is of smoking ruins. Not ml
the Palace ITSELF but everything that IL contained
burned up, and the exhibitors at the great fair Of n
American Institute, which was being held there for ~
weeks past, have lost all they had in the building
AT about five O'Clock last evening fire was Discovers
in the north nave of the Crystal Palace, the Fo
second street side When first II appeared 70 N.
coed from the used as lumber room, and In wb4
stored large quantity of old patterns left from IN
Worlds Fair There entrance the north nav
and in the where the fire is said TO have start,
there no fire or light of any description ever U.s..
The managers of the fair state that there Is but N
tie doubt but that the fire the work Of an ince
diary. The blaze was discovered almost Immediately
and an attempt made to extingush It by the hose on
the premises but the water not flowing freely the
spread to the ceiling under part of the balcony floor
when the combustble character of the yellow pine floor
ing fed the deyouring element and almost Immediately
enveoped the dome in of flame. When the fire wa,
first discovered there about 900 persons the build
ing and, the alarm being given, CONSERVATION and
fright seized upon the yisers who rushed wildly in t
direction of the exits crying and screaming in the mo
ptiablc manner. Children were separated from then
parents and friend from friend. Many knocked
down and tramplcd under foot, and sustained serious
bodily injury 1t is feared from the rapid spread Of The
smoke and the little knowledge the yiiters had Of the
means of exit that several lives have been lost Ie
persons in the gallery in great jeopardy as in th
minutes from the first discovery of the fire tho upper part
of the building 80 filled with smoke that 1t would
have been impossible for human being to have existed
a minute
framework Of the entire palace afforded most inamma
BILE pabulum for the conagration to feed upon and this
explains the OF its rapid spread The when
the fire at its height one of fearful magncencc
The huge dome like vast ball of fire, and the flames
leaped up its sides in great Of lurd light AT one
bnIa paIac ole
and vomiting up fire at rate that would have done credit
to Vesuvius All who witnessed the spectacle declare
that it of those things rarely seen in lifetime
About twenty-five minutes after the fire was first dis
covered the dome fell with fearful crash and the flames
made final leap upwards, and sank to rise more
In forty minutes from the breaking out of the FIRE the
palace and all it contained were totally destroyed
that mark the site of this proud building few
standing towers and smoking heap of ruins,
From all the facts that could be possibly asceranei
from parties who in the Palace at the time the fire
originated there cannot be doubt but the fire was The
work of an incendiary From the manner in which tho
flames shot up there must have been either turpentne
camphcne administered to aid the rapid progress Of the
fire. The room in WI ch the fire was first discovered
located directly the northeast wing, adjoining the
stairway leading up to the gallery 1t at time
used for storing old boxes and tc like but at the time
of the fire of the managers stated that there was
nothing therein but quantity OF wooden patterns and
the only paper material was some old tickets used at tho
said was perceived at the beginning of the fire, which
shows that there must have been villanous work in tho
matter.
Just previous to the fire. young lady, who nea
at the time, states that she come out Of the
above place she described him as dressed in black and
that he was the first one she said to cry fire. The man
ayers state that the place was closed and bar placed
the entrance that If any person gained admit
lance he did so by taking down the bar.
The total number of exhibitors at this fair about
u ha...
and il is difficult to get at estimate of the loss Of each
exhibitor Some of the articles were, Of course Of l
or no value but the majority of the articles were costly
and as they not insured the loss will fall heavily
upon the exhibitors The average value for each cxh
ior would not fall below $500. At this rate the total
loss would be as follows
1890 exhibitors, $500 each ------------$l 0SS 900
Cost of building --------------------- 1000
Total loss 1885, OOO|
This estimate may be little too high, but the items
seem little enough.