Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1872-11-15
The Great Fire IN Boston.


Undismayed-The supply of
gas cut ofi-Re-
building.
A conhagration, approaching the Chi
cago fire in immensely and more start
ling and terrible in some respects, visited
Boston on Saturday night and Sunday.
Splendid as was Chicago, neither she,
nor New York, nor any American city
possessed so fine quarter of business
palaces as those just destroyed in Boston.
Probably there is no 20 acres in the
world, devoted 10 business, which bore so
costly structures as those which have
thus disappeared in night.
To help to fix its details, our readers
may recall the quarter of the city lying
on the east side of Washington street
between State and Summer streets, far
ing out little broader on the east to the
wharves. 1t was quite nearly the shape
of fan half opened. with the old post
office on State street for its pivotal point
(north) Broad street for the eastern stick
and Washington street for the western,
and Summer street and part of Broad
for the fringe (south) of the fan. Begin
ming at Broad and counting toward
| Washington, we find between the two
and running in the same general dii &C.
ton, (from Summer converging on State
street, Oliver, Pearl, Congress, Federal,
Devonshire, Combining into itself at
Winthrop square, Arch and OTIS streets)
and Hawley, which does not run clear
through to State, but stops at Milk.
Running crosswise the fan and counting
from the outer edge, or Summer street,
we find franklin, Milk and Water
streets, then State.
ORIGIN OF THE FIRE.
The fire originated on the outer edge
of the fan toward the southwest corner,
at the corner of Summer and Kingston
streets. Kingston is the street that runs
off from Beach, by the side Of the Unit
ed States Hotel, and after passing Sum
mer is called Otis. The building (S7,
80, 81, Summer) was fine granite
block of five stories, surmounted with
high Mansard roof, overlapping all 9TH
er buildings in that immediate vicinity.
Directly as the flames began to spread
through the story beneath this roof, and
before an engine or hose carriage was on
the ground, great volumes of smoke sud
denly burst out from the rear lower sto-
ries of the building, and in less than
20 minutes the whole facade, extending
fully 100 feet along Kingston street, was
one sheet of flame. as was also at the
same time the Summer street front, the
heat being so intense as to force the fire.
men away from the immediate vicinity.
RAPID PROGRESS OF THE FLAMES.
In less than half an hour the fire had
leaped across Kingston street and across
Summer street to the corner blocks. The
wind had now risen to gale and was driv-
ing the fire from roof to roof and street to
street, the firemen making not the slight
est impression with their tiny streams of
water in the intense heat. In an instant,
as it seemed, the blocks above and below
on Summer street and across it were in
flames, but little progress was made
southwark on Kingston. The structures
opposite and alongside were all four or
five stories high, and of imposing archi-
lecture and granite fronts. Nearly OPP
I posite, on the corner OF Otis and Sum
mer streets, was the immense Everett
block, occupying the site of the old Ev-
erett mansion. This, and all the other
blocks on the north side of the street,
soon caught upon the roofs and filled
with flames The fire now rushed along
the roofs up Summer street toward Wash
lngton, on the south side, as far as c. f.
Hovey q Co.'S magnificent building, and
on the north up to the square, old gran
lite tower of Trinity church, enveloping
that structure. Great fears were felt
that it would go southwark into Central
court, envelop the great building of Jor-
dan, Marsh, d Co., and thus gain Wash
ington street, but such was not its course
Meantime the heat from the immense
Everett building carried the fire north
ward through Arch and Otis streets to
Winthrop square, the most imposing cen.
tire of trade in this country, where are
located the great business houses of A,
! I. Stewart, James Beebe, etc. By II
o'clock these superb blocks and lofty
Mansards were all in flames, sending up
showers of sparks and great flames Of
fervent cinders. From this centre the
fire spread to all the adjoining streets.
The fire penetrated down Summer to
Bedford, crossing thence down to the
Hartford and Erie station and wharf
then northerly. sweeping along around
Broad aud Pear streets nearly to State.
| On State, no fronts are burned, but the
rears of some of the blocks have suffeIed
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