Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1861-03-18

During all Thursday the wind blew over
the bills at Norwood with extraordinary fierce
ness full against the frDnt of the Palace lao
ing toward London. That Il was more violent
here than in other suburban districts is evi-
denced by the broken branches of trees, the
psliRRs, and even garden walls blown down
in the neighberhood. But although the
pressure Of the gale upon the whole surface Of
the Palace amounted to in the aggregate
several thousand TONS, not the smallest per-
oeptible effect was produced upon it, and, as
we have stated, not single pane Of glass was
broken. All stood well, till about half past
seven o'clock on Thursday night when, dur
ing one OF the fearful gusts which then swept
over the hill, some men in the carpenter s
room heard a little crashing Of glass and
iron, and Immediately ran out TO the terrace
garden. In another minute with an appal-
Ing crssh, the huge tower fell over among
some trees, and lay smashed into millions of
fragments on the ground. In the course Of
two or three minutes more the res, Of the
wing went by 30 or 40 yards at a time, till
total length Of about Ito yards sirewed the
earth, a mere mass of splinters of glass, wood,
and iron. Anything more complete than the
destruction il would be difficult TO imagine.
The appearance of the ruin rather suggests
that every part of the building has been care
fully broken into small pieces than that it
had been merely blown down. A tremendous
explosion could not possibly have shattered
the place more easctuslly. The woodwork
is all in small pieces, the cast iron columns
are broken up like glass, and the rods twisted
aud torn into every shape. Fortunately,
there was nothing in this wing bat the empty
pens used at the late poultry show, and a
number of garden seats; all these, of course,
are more or less destroyed. AS far as can
be judged from the way in which the ruins
have fallen, it would seem that the corner
column nearest the railway must have had
to sustain the thrust exercised upon it by the
other columns yielding to the force of the
gale. As the wind came in gusts, it is sup
posed the tower must have oscillatsd 70 such
degree IS to force the corner column, on
which the main strain came, out Of its per-
pendicular, when, Of course, it snapped at
once. Itwas no doubt the breaking of this
which the carpenters first heard, and ran out
on the terrace, when the tower, thus deprived
OF its main support, fell instantly before the
next blast 1t IS a great prsof, however, Of
the strength of the structure, that when the
rest Of the wing was thus weakened and
broken by the tall of the tower, it was not
instantly overthrown al o. It stood for
several minutes, and only fell piece by piece
as the wind swept down upon it with almost
the force Of hurricane. The strength of
either of these wings however, Is not to be
compared with the enormous strength and
cOmpactness with which the main building is
put together. The cost Of rebuilding the
north wing, it is stated, would not amount to
more than &c, coo, but as lately it was never
used for anything but the poultry shows
which can just as well be held in the south
wing, it is not propable that it will be rebuilt
all.