The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-03-26
THE GREAT FIRE IN CINCINNATI.

Express Office, the "Enqufrer' Oaace,
and other Large Establishments De-
str"yed Immense LOsses - Incidents
NRDd Accidents, Etc.
from the Cincinnati Ecening Ti.nes of Friday.
Cne OF the greatest cllamitcs our city has lately
know is comprised in the disaster which, under the
cover OF darknefs visited our city last right Nor
chanlS and manufacturers w1Y build aud inYpjt
their capital, and the dCsr1c on OF Their premI.es
js sad loss lnd-ed Yet bur lew men engage IN
an enterprise involving the outlay OF hundi EDS OF
thousanOs or doeTs, where the rc,urn Is OF
certain character. and to great extent depends on
coming ncies which ere as changelble as the
wind. In the building of the opera house we may
wei! believe that Mr. Pike he'd in view the erccdon
of an ornament TO our city, rs well as monument
which would endclr HIM to the memory OF our peo-
pie long after he had passed away.
He came 10 our city from New York about 1913, q
stranger and invested his means fIJt IN the whole.
sale dry goods business, locluDg himself on third
street Opposite the Henrle House. Not finning rms
commenS urato with his energies he soon after en-
gagcd IN tire dstlling busnC and from hts profits
In this trade ne accumulated tine vest means which
made him one OF our wCltheSt citizens.
F1om The beginning itseemed with Mr.. Pike to be
an object 10 make himself prominent among
people one VINO came TO identity hmcelf with the
interests of the city and the result shows now far
he has succ edCd IN accomplishing such a reJut.
The building OF tie great Opera House was such
an undertaking as would ha 70 been entered upon by
the ewest OF persons, even of the velest business
capacity. Yet IL had long been darling proic of
his, and unaided, he considered hmVelG fully equal
to the task. SO It was begun. The ImmensitY of
the oesign was almost secret TO our people, until,
at last, like the uncoverng of some vast statue s
burst their view, the most magnificent institu-
",
haps, having its superior IN the world.
How far il has ever been made to pay interest
on the original cos-some three hundred and fifty
thousand dollars-we a1e unable to say; We only
know that il h-s always been pom, ID to by our
citl"ens with pride, that it has alwafs been among
the first objecs1 of nterclt Csked for by ST. tanGeIs
and - that it is gone, nothing but a mss of
backeued walls now remaiEi- TO mark where it
stood.
Many persons my build large commercial esta-
blsbments send up stone amer sore IN the erection
OF almost pllatlll dwellings, but it required 5. N.
ton IN laying hat If it was not 1or him Cincinnati
OrPenIzed ocatIOn would never for centuries TO
come have builtl with 20 much taste and 80 appor
tloned il W fhout rec ard 70 care or expense. How
far he had suCccc5ed in his anticpations we know
not. We can only say that the Queen City has lost
its brightest arcbitec ,ural Ornament and that black
ness and RshC3 mark where 1t stood.
In perGon NJ. Pike is q dclic1tely built man, of
about iorty OF are, end we believe was engaHed
in bu-ine3s in New York before his arrival at the
West. His demc1nor 1s aways OF the qu.etest char
acler, strictly ee1tatious and apparently self
reliant to n degree Csldom 1ornd among men. In
dre?s ALWAYS n: n, but without di play, he would
scarcely be recognize, so young ~ unessuming,
as beng pose led OF those characteristics which
fully disIn ulshcd him since ne came into midst,
Durllg the coDfagra iop last night the cquannity
of Mr.. Pike never torsook him. He the beaut1-
iul fabric ne had erected melting away before the
tel. .ble elemCut but, ike philosopher, ne smoked
his cigar apparently as unimpassoned spectator as
looked upon the Ccene.
The Opera House is not the only evidence of the
good tas,e of Mr. PIKE in his adOrnment OF our city.
On Fourth street, below Smith, he built row of
ELEGANT residences, of the latest style the object OF
admiTatIOn to all who p"ss that way.
Notwithstanding the mat er referred to above, the
regular bn+iress engagements OF sir. Pike never
tagged His large recufying establishment went
wha. Vcs but carr cd away his stock as parce of t9
freight w ell the Western iver' With the landing
OF the steamers, out went some OF 'Pke's Best" or
his Me gDola," and from that we may readily be-
lieve he made his immense oiSu1e. He has the
sympatnic5 of the entire community IN his great
Even cs we write, at late hour of the morning,
the engines in the street. and the multitude attracted
reached
pours along the DaveTent7 end the IAN. Stream
af 81 stIcam poc3 Gown upon the b,istering debris
and the ascending stream floats away tribute to the
institution we shall Eever know again.
TEE ORIGIN OF THE FIRE.
There have tcen many theories advanced as to the
PINE cause OF the explosion ard fire. Several per-
sons who were in attendance lest right at the
performance OF the spec aculer drama of Midsummer
Nights Dream, report that during the representa-
ton OF the last act OF the pay there was somewhere
about The stage, strong ecape OF gas which was
perceptIbe through the ballet part of the act, and
continuing ill he cui aiE fell The vast audience
dispersed quie ly at about heltpast len O'CLOCK
After eleven o'c ock private watchman James Nc
ney, who w2s near the = car OF the Opera House.
hearo an explosion not unlike the collapsing of
gas meter, the conclusion that would be naturally
produced by the sudden collision of gas and fame
IN apartment of prcccribed or condensed limits.
~ force of tins explosion so great that
amost the entire reer OF the Opera House was blown
out end thrown completely acro's Baker street.
Waterman Mckinley an rom where he then was
TO the corner OF FORTH and wa nut, where he
turned in an alarm OF fire from EOx "a; as immo-
Cliately 70 lowing trc cxposon flames were seen to
rice up and spre.d tEar forked ana furious tongles
on all sides, as ii eager for prey which could be
easily deYourcd
Michael Toohey, private Natchman of the Opera
House, reports that beSwcen the time the audience
Wes disr'lised and the explosion and confagTaton,
he went through the enure building and turned of
the gas. Evidently there a leak IN the gas
somewhere, for, cs we have already stated this was
discovered by OF the audience during the per-
formance Of the last act OF the play The truth of the
oIIgin of the explosion will pcrhap9 Tem1in mys-
terry, the fl mes spread with such rapidIty as to
destroy all ye9tges or clue that might have led to
solution Of the question.
THE OPERA HOUSE.
The loss here is over million of dollars, on which
there is insurance of $38OC0 Nothing is left to the
proprietor OF all that mag nlfcent property save the
smoking ruins, hre-coVered grounds, and desolate
walls.
When MT Pike heard the alarm he was in his room
In the Burnet House, fronting Vine street Look.
ing out, he saw the flames rushing IN flood through
the roof, in the neighbOrhood of the chlmney-sack
While he was upon the street for few minutes
some scounerel picked his pocket of valuable
watch.
He viewed the tremendous scene in which mil
lion OF ms property was vanishing from the roof o
the Burnet House. with more calmness than the ma
jority OF the multitude OF spectators. Whatever
dauntess spirit ana an UNIV cared energy on his part
can do 10 repair MS gleat loss will certainly be done
Mr. Morris Slmmonds, acting manager OF the
Opera House, passed over toe stage a. .er the
audience had retired, and there were no signs oi
fire. He had Gcarcely let the building when, hear
ing O noise like the rushing OF a mighty storm hC
flames
The money and valuable papers contained in the
safe are all that were saved out of the immense
wreck of the dramatic and operate temple-a pitia
BILE say ing in comparison with tins loss to Indi
vidual ead TO the city.
DESTRUCTION ON FOURTH STREET.
Among the foriunate,'we can mention the firm o
W. u. Capp Co., jewellers Yesterday the,