Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-03-24
Gambling Houses1n Flames.
+1f tHlu5 1l - .lui 4 ,l,
Loss Nearly $4,000. 900,

b At haif-pS& eleven last night the writer
of this, 'ihGompany with several acquant-
ances, was engaged in conversation rela-
tive to the chances ofescape from Pixies OPP
era House, in case Of an alarm of fire there,
Peel on peel rang the alarm bells just then,
and '.Pike's Opera House burning was the
cry. 1t was half-past eleven we said-or
five or ten minutes earlier. Fortunately,
very fortunately, the immense audience
cOngregated to witness the gorgeous beau
ties OF "Midsummer Nights Dream" had
Ell dispersed and sought their homes.
The first spark of fire which presaged the
terrible catastrophe we are about to chrOn-
icle, the most destructive, perhaps, ever
witnessed in this city, was first cOmmuni-
Gated to the scenery back OF the stage, the
immense mass of which, of canvag, oil and
!. paint was all in a mass of flames in two or
three minutes. In five minutes the flames
had wrapped the whole magnificent inte-
rior of stage and auditorium, and burst
through the rear portion of the roof. On
the wings of the draft thus provided, the
flames shot upto a great hight, and Tapped
over upon adjoining buildings. The night
darkness was Illuminated with the immense
sheets of flames, which hung over the
doomed ornament OF the eity-the palatial
seat of the drama and OF music. Soon huge
masses of black smoke burst from the cor
nice OF the Fourth street front windows.
Gradually the light like the rays of the
morning sun in midsummer, cleaned
through the windows, and told the story of
utter and complete destruction as they burst
/ through the glass and shot out their forked
tongues and spit huge flakes of flaming
substance high in the air. At quarter of
twelve the scene was exciting In the eX-
treme. The half square bounded by Fourth,
Vine, Baker and Walnutstreets, HAD dome
of luridly cleaning flames, through which
columns of smoke shot up, and from which
showers of sparks and punches of flames
hoated upward, and then descended upon
the burning mass below, and upon the
brightly illuminated streets, where tens Of
thousands were congregated, gazing in awe
upon the terrible work of the destroying
element. The dome and ceiling, with their
gorgeous and artistic ornamentation, upon
which the eyes of citizens and strangers
have gazed in silent admiration, fell, with
the roof with a terrific crash, and there
burst upward a dazzling light, binding in
its intensity. Then fell the ornamental
portion OF the surmOunts of the front wall,
and the total destruction of all was plain.
Slowly but surely the fire crept down
through the various stories of the edifice-
through offices and enthusiastically down
TO the magnificent stores, running the entire
length of the building on the first floor of
Fourth street, into the wealth of literature.
the tens of thousands worth OF books of
Carroll's store, the valuable stock of Sum-
ner's sewing machines, the fine music store
of w. G. Peters, and Philip Phillips pianos,
the immense goods stored in the Adams
Express rooms, the college rooms OF Byrant,
Stratton IL De Hans Commercial Institute,
the editorial room of the National Union,
Harpel's job printing establishment with
its valuable machinery, and all the dozen
offices besides. At half-past II the destruc-
tion was complete, indeed. The masses of
fame had entirely replaced the noble editice
all that remained of Pixies Opera House |
was the grand 'front.' or rather half of 1t, |
which stubbornly stood erect as of Old
while the spiteful fire wreathed out through !
the skeleton windows and hugged the |
stones as though graphing with them to
wrench them from place. The elegant or
namental arch endured to the end, and |
through it could be seen immense piles of !
burning timbers and valuable goods. /
All this time the illumination was awfully |
grand. There was no darkness. A thousand |
bonfires could not have made the bright
ness more complete; and the air for many I
squares around was hot with the breath of
the conflagration, and crowded with cin-
ders and pieces of burning wood, which
descended upon a hundred housetops. From
the rear and west side of the Opera House
the flames marched with overwhelming
strength to the extensive stables of The Adj
ams Express Company and the buildings of
the Cincinnati Daily Enquirer.
The fall OF large mass of wal upon the
rear of the Enquirer building insured its
partial destruction, and soon the flames
were communicated to the rear of the first
and second floors, and rushing onward crept |
through the front windows, and told the
story of their power to the firemen who
crept up to grapple with them. But with
the same power already so terribly used,
the devOuring flames wrapped the structure
in their embrace, and the work of destrnc-
tion was soon far advanced through the job
rooms, where were stored nearly 100000
worth of cuts; through jOb-presses and
composing rooms aud editorial rooms;
through the engraving rooms OF Jones &
Hart--all totally destroyed.
The total insurance on the Enquirer office
is $4,000. The loss in the JOB rooms is
very heavy, the largest power press in the
West being one of the valuable pieces of
machinery destroyed.
JOHN ROBINSON
loses all his show bills for the coming Circus
season, which were printed ana stored In Jne /
pasting rooms. His loss will amount to
several thousand dollars, and is uninsured.
His valuable cuts went, of course, in the
general wreck.
...a OTHER BUILDINGS.
( On the south side of Baker street, the old |
frame, used formerly as house of prosti-
tuition, and recently as gambling house, |
was burned, and on the east side, fronting |
on the north side of Baker street. the |
gambling house N o. was partially destroy |
ed, the roof and top story being consumed.
ON FOURTH STREET,
next east of the Opera, House, the wall
aper store of Holmes q Son was soon |
wrapped in fire, as well as the stores OF f.
p. Haldy and j. Clark, furnishing goods, |
their stock being almost entirely ruined.
sd; tGdi ll9 ADAMS EXPRESS. d
The men sleeping in the Office Of the com
pany were startled from sleep, and imme-
diately rushed to the safes and secured the
treasure in the money packages and valua-
Bile papers. The books and valuable papers
ofthe Office were nearly all destroyed. We
are informed that, early in the course of the
fire, a red hot bolt, like that of lightning,
fell through the ceiling and struck the
floor. This portion of the Opera House
was the last to yield to complete destruc-
ton.
OPERA HOUSE OFFICE.
The money and valuable papers contain
ed Ia the safe are all that we're saved out of
the immense wreck of the dramatic and