The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1872-11-15
THE CITY OF BOSTON PAR
TALLY DESTROYED.
FEARFUL DESTRUCTION !
Acres Of Flame--Millions Lost |!
CHICAGO REPEATED

the immediate vicinity. As soon as
the flames began to spread through the
story Immediately beneath the roof,
and before an engine or hose carriage
had reached the ground, great volumes
of flame suddenly burst out from the
rear of the lower stories, and in less
than twenty minutes the whole facade
on Kingston street, fully ono hundred
feet long, became sheet of flame, and
quickly the same thing was true of the
Summer street front. The heat was
then so intense that it forced away the
flremen, who had by this time arrived
on the scene. a strong wind uufOrtun-
ately arising, the flames were swept by
it over Summer and Kingston streets,
and despite the brave eXertions of the
firemen of the whole department the
fire was communicated to the buildings
on the opposite corner of the two streets
and to the great block on the corner OF
Summer and Otis streets. In less than
half an hour afterwards these immense
buildings were all enveloped in flames
that reached far above their high roofs.
By this time the wind had increased
to nearly gale, and the flames, having
the entire mastery of everything, swept
from story to story, from roof to roof,
from block to block, and from corner to
corner, driving the firemen from every
vantage ground they could secure, and
rendering all their exertions useless
and futile. Wherever the flames reach.
ed they rapidly consumed everything
of combustible character.
Winthrop square, the very centre of
the great wholesale trade of the city,
embracing some of the most costly
mercantile buildings ever erected in
this country, and occupied by such
great firms as James NJ. Beebe d Co.,
Stewart & Co., Anderson, Heath & Co.,
and forty or fifty others, was before ten
o'clock one mass of ruins.
After repeated solicitations on the
part of business men, owners of real
estate, and others, Chief Engineer DAM
rell, just before two o'clock, gave the
order TO rope off the streets leading into
Milk street, preparatory to blowing up
the buildings on the south side of that
street.
The report of buildings blown up, in.
dicating that gunpowder was being used
to stop the fire, was heard at five min
utes past three o'clock, and was the
most welcome sound of the night, for
it betokened fearless, honest, radical
effort to save Boston from Chicago's
fate. Three discharges were made in
block on Devonshire street, and these
threw the building partially down, but
without apparent benefit, for the flames
jumped over the gap almost instantly.
The building was close to the fire, and
it was at once seen that unless blocks
more distant were speedily prostrated,
the effect would of course be simply
nothing. Trains had been laid in Fed
eral street as early as two o'clock, the
street being then Immediately cleared
for action, but it was not until quarter
to four that the destruction of buildings
in the path of the conflagratiou by the
explosion of the gunpowder was begun
in good earnest. The shocks caused the
old city to tremble to its foundations.
1t is impossible to enumerate in our
limited space the number of valuable
buildings destroyed. The Merchants
Exchange and Post Office were lost.
The conhagration was got under con-
troll at about one o'clock, p, m., having
in the space of fifteen hours destroyed
hundreds of the costliest and most sub
stantial warehouses in the country, and
temporarily paralyzing three of the
leading mercantile interests-the shoe
and leather, wool and dry goods trades.
1t is said that there is not one Wholesale
shoe and leather establishment left in
Boston. The wool trade has suffered in
an equal degree, and the dry goods job.
biug houses left are few and far betwC IN.
The new Post. Office and Sub. Treasury
building was for long time exposed to
the fierce flames and smoke, but was
scarcely Scared. This massive fire.
proof structure saved the Boston Morn
ing Post Building, directly opposite,
and helped greatly in preventing the
fire from reaching State stre.N. The |
Old South Church also escaped, Jlough |
several times given up for lost. The
costly and beautiful Transcript Bald. |
ing, and Currier & Trott's jewelry es-
tablishment, on the opposite corner of |
Milk street, were burned.
The following are the general boun-
daries of the conflagration: The whole |
length and both sides of Summer street |
across Federal, and nearly down to |
brakes wharf, and thence in nearly a |
direct line to Fort Hill, along Hamilton
and Battery-march to Kilby street, as
far as Lindall and Central streets, and |
from Milk to Summer, on Washington |
street. Within these boundaries, an |
area of nearly seventy acres, every
building is consumed.
The loss is now estimated at between |
and $lOO,0O0,000, and the in
surance at 100000 to $l2, 600, 900.
A good many persons were injured,
and several killed.
The Ninth Regiment, with detach-
ments from other regimentl, amount
ing to 1900 men was on duty for the
protection of property and the pr; err
walton Of order.
The terrible feature of this disaster is |
the enormous amount of valuable pro.
perty which has been destroyed. In
this respect, tho fire has never been |
equaled, not even by the similar
catastrophe at Chicago. 1t began in the
very centre of the wholesale business
section of the city, and hundreds of the
finest business edifices in the country
have been destroyed. In the general
ruin banks and mercantile and manu-
featuring houses have fallen. The
ground which they occupied is not less
than two seventy acres in area. Thous.