The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-10-12
Fire in New York..

The New York papers, of Monday, bring
us an account of Il disastrous fire The
Times says:
destructive fire occurred i'll the marble
building. No. 502 Broadway. on Saturday
night The building was occupied hv G.
G. Gunther e Sons furricrs and John
Nogt IL Co., dealers III china and glass.
Their aggregate loss will probably amount
to $350,0o0 Sparks from the burning
bu lding were carried to The roof of the
Catholic Cathedral, in Mott -'rc"t, and in
a few hours afterwards the cAitirc was re
ducc / to ashes. The loss "n TIE church.
and its interior adornncnts is estimated at
S150,0@0, on which there is au Insurance of
$75. .00G.
With regard to the burning Of the Cathc-
dral and the progress of the flames, we
have the following account:
The flames ran along the ROOF, cncircling
it with halo of light, and thence descend
&C! to The l"w"c part OF the building. NE
interior of the church was i'll mass OF
roaring flame; the beautiful stained glass
windows shone wi;h unnatural brilliamcv,
as If some great festival was being hold
within; altar. organ pipes. paintings, aUd
all the pomp and splcudor Of the Cathedral
of the American metropolis, were lighted
up with an illumination Huch ~ never be
fore WAS dreamed OF there. Tie cross on
wall fronting Mulberry street seemed like
the cross that bcck0ncd Constantine Oh t.,
victory, or that Of st. Peters during the
Holy Week. The flames played around it,
beneath it, and above it. wrcathing it with
Il fiery halo, and revealing distinctly every
line and carving on it.
Tho wooden towers un Mott street soon
fell III. The flames caught new life from
their wreck, and leapcd higher than ever.
y few individuals connected with the
church climbed up marrow stairway in the
bclfry, which allowed the asccn: OF bat one
at IL time on the roof, and at the risk of
their lives attempted to c1jinSuish the
incipient coniiagration with buckets OF
water. Their efforts We're of no avail.
Half an hour afterwards, u portion of the
fire department arrived upon the scene,
but the roof was then :. mass OF flame, and
1t was apparent that the destruction Of the
old Cathedral of the Province of New York
was inevitable.
Great efforts were made bv the clergy,
teachers and officers of the church, aided
by the parishioners. to save the sacred
vessels and vcstments. These were OF
considerable value. being worth not less
than $40, 900. One -ct Of vcstmcntS saved
:,wcrc brought from Paris by the archbishop,
and We're worth about $1,000. 70 the
Catholics of this city, this old church is
cndcarcd by many sacred memories, not
the least o.: which Is the circumstance of
its containing the remains OF the late la
mcntcd Archbishop hughes. Besides this,
| 1t contains the remains OF the Right Rev.
Drs. Concancn, Connolly and Dubois. Great
efforts were made by tho department to
preserve the tombs of these departed pre-
latcs, and it appears that their efforts
proved successful. Many tiuc frcscors,
works of American and foreign artists.
were necessarily destroyed, and very tine
painting OF the Crucili2ion, hv an Amcri
can artist. The pulpit * said to have been
one OF the finest i'll America, ana the
sacristv, it is said. would hold moro c!cr-
Iymcn than that of any church il the
United States. The church itself it Is
estimated, would seat about 5000 people.
st. patricks Cathedral was built in tiic
year 1871, by Bishop Dubois, being the
second church erected in this city. Arch
bishop Hughes made considerable adtli-
tons to il iii 1913 1t was one of the old
.nd-mar!ls of New York and cudcarcd by
many rccollc:tions. BESIDES containing
the remains of three bishops and one
archbishop, in it has been Witnessed the
consccration Of many others. There were
very many splendid frcscoes and paintings
by American and foreign artists, the archi
episcopal throne, valued 1T $500, and other
invaluable works completely destroyed.
Fortunately, the archives OF the church,
not being kept i'll it, were thus saved