Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-10-08
The DestructIou ofthe CrystaI Palace.


discovered the beautiful fabric of the builders
skill, with its priceless treasures of industry
and art, was q heap of blaekened ruins. The
great dome, so long an object of beauty tower
ing in the city, fell in twelve minutes after the
work of destruction began. The gaudy bubble
disappeared suddenly as the sunParnted of
childhood.
The first cost of the Palace was 7Il,000.-
The improvements and additions increased the
sum to s75O,OOO. No stockhOlder ever receiv-
ed cent of dividend, and no bonlholder a
farthing of interest The Association went in
to bankruptcy in 1854, and last spring the city
authorities took possession of the property, and
leased it to the American Institute. We aP-
pend brief description of the Palace:
The general idea Of the edfce was a Greek
cross, surmOunted by dome at the intersec-
ton. Each diameter of the cross was 365 feet
inches long. There were three similar en-
frances one on the Sixth Avenue one on
Fortieth, and one on Forty-second street Each
entrance was AZ feet wide, and that on Sixth
Avenue was approached by fight of steps.
Over each front was large semi-circular fan
light, Al feet wide and 81 feet high, answering
to the arch Of the nave. Each arm of the cross
was on the ground plan l49 feet broad. This
was divided into q central nave and aisles
one on each side; the nave Al. each aisle 81
feet wide.
The central portion Of the nave was carried up
to the hight of 67 feet, and the semi-circular
arch by which it was spanned, was Al feet
broad. There were thus in effect two arched
naves crossing each other at night angles, Al
feet broad, 81 feet high to the crown of the
arch, and 365 feet long and on each side of
these nayes was an aisle 81 feet broad and 45
high. The exterior of the ridgeway of the nave
was Al feet. Each aisle was covered by gal
lery OF its own width, and "a feet from the
floor The central dome, magnificent design,
was 100 feet in diameter, 6S feet inside from
the floor to the spring of the arch, and lis feet
| TO the crown and on the outside, with the Ian
tern, l49 feet The exterior angles of the build
ing were ingeniously filed up with a triangu-
lar lean to "a feet high, which gave the ground
plan an octsgonal shape, each side or face being
/ l49 feet wide. At each aSgle was an octagonal
tower, feet in diameter and 75 feet high.
The building contained on the ground floor,
/ Ill, 600 square feet of space, and in its gal
leries, which were 81 feet wide, 81, 900 square
feet more, making a total area of la, 900
square feet, for the purposes of eIhibition.-
There were thus on the ground floor two acres
and half, or exactly 2 52-I0O; in the galleries
one acre and A 100; total, with an inconsider-
able fraction, four acres.
Mr.. F. W. Geissenhainer, Chairman of the
Board of Managers of the American Institute,
has made the following interesting statement of
facts touching the great confagration:
Mr.. Geissenhainer was standing in the south
nave near the Fortieth street entrance when he
heard the alarm of fire in the north nave. He
ran rapidly TO the Forty second street entrance,
where he discovered quantity Of wooden pat
/ terms of the iron work used IN the construction
Of the Palace, and which had been deposited in
the west side of the entrance, enveloped in
rapidly extending flame, which had already
communicated to the flight Of stairs near the
entrance. The Pitch-pine floors only invited
the flames, and they licked over the planking,
rolling up dense clouds of smoke, which nearly
suffocated those in the north nave. After dis
patching a man to turn off the gas, which had
| Just been turned on for the evening, Mr. Gels.
senhainer ran to a hydrsnt, with hose attached,
near the north entrance, and caused the water
to be turned on Owing however, 70 the low
water In the reservoir, it was Of no avail. In
the mean time the flames had progressed with
fearful rapidity, rendering the steam pump and
fire engines and apparatus at this time unayail-
/ ing, had there been a suftciency of water. As
/ it became evident that there was no hope of
saving the building, the hundreds who, on the
| first alarm, rushed to the point where the fire
was burning, ran as rapidly toward the Fortieth
street and Sixth avenue entrance in the great
est confusion and excitement, while the employ
ees of the Institute and a few others devoted
their efforts to clearing the building Of the peo
pie. Without any preeoncerted arrangement,
kha-- IssfrsbrrT,4 IL
building, looking for persons in retired spots
aud warning them Of their danger The
flames aseended 10 the second floor, and
seemingly rolled along the surface of the wood
work like molten iron, at a speed as rapid
as the ordinary pace Of pedestrian in the street
After going through two Of the galleries Mr.
Geissenhainer proceeded to the picture gallery.
He went behind the panorama, thinking that the
men who were engaged in winding the panora.
for the evening exhibition might still be there
When he returned from the gallery he found
both stairways in blaze. He ran to one of
the towers, and finding one board displaced in
the floor, be easily removed another and slid
down the iron pipe leading from the water tank
to the floor below, and moment after made his
egress from the building. The last person had
hardly left the building when the dome fell in
with a tremendous crash, Just twelve minutes
after the fire was discovered. The Institute
saved only the three entry books and their safe
with the medals and premiums, and these with
great difficulty. On nne side of the Sixth-av-
enue entrance the ticket seller had the money
he had received done up and saved it with.
out edificulty. The other ticket seller was
forced TO leave, leaving over $500 in the tills.-
The Institute had expended over $4,000 last
year in fitting up the Palace. But little prop
erty was saved.
Mr.. Geissenhainer thinks that there were
thousand persons in the interior when the
alarm was first sounded. In the rush for the
entrance large numbers Of persons became sep
arated from their friends and families, aud fora
long time many were running about in deep
distress, in the fear that their family or friends
had not been SO fortunate as to escape from the
building. Up to the hour of Mr.. Geissenhain-
er's leaving the Iuins he had heard Of no deaths
Mr. Geissenhainer estimates the amount Of
property in the building destroyed at nearly
$4,000. 1t is stated that there is policy Of
insurance on the articles in the building in IA
vor Of the bondholders and city for $4,000.
The cause Of the fire remains unknown, but
Mr.. Geissenhainer thinks it the work of an IN |
eendiary. There was no fire engines used with |
in two hundred feet of the spot where the flames |
were first discovered. Hecker's engine, which |
wss running near the north entrance, was NOV
ed by steam conveyed two hundred feet Fear |
ing that there might be an explosion, the en- |
gineer early in the cOnAagraiiOn removed the |
ball from the safety-valve Of the main boiler, !
and allowed the steam 10 blow off
There were about 3, 500 exhibitors, more than |
half of whom had entered on exhibition, bed |
quilts tides pin-cushiOns, needle work, and sim
liar effects
The New Hampshire Thanksgiving
In noticing the fact that the Governor of New |
Hamnshire has AT 4bs s,~,r,rla of ,,.r,;,,, ,ha