, 1873-08-03

should amount to more than s75, 900 Is not quite
cloer to soyora1 gontlemoi' Of oxporicnco Il nd
1nsting loasen, WHO wont tnrongl, tic building
beforo tho ilron'on loft It. lilo a.gonts arc Of
twoeh 10 900 'I and ID e55 so !,as boon rendered
ontiroly worthloss and TINT tho groater portion
Of the Woodwork has boon warped to III oxtons
that will nocosBitato AT ortlny Of several t,o..
probably nIow them TINT tlloy. ate nstnkon in
each particular. Tho ceilings Of all tho floors aro
badly damaged, OF course. but tlIo piahtoring
Of tito grenter portion Of tho walls Is scarcely
inrea II the o2ra hny9 been .ron, 9o,ia1y
for It was promptly swept of by tho n,otnbors Of
tho Firo Insurance Patrol aa soon as tic build
Ing wap givon up to tho'n. Tho woodwork M sur,
rounding tf,o wa'l of tho skyfgit on tllo diEoru1it
replaced. Tho skylight itso1f cost s22,0 ,00n, hst
M It was composed mainly OF iron Tho damage
to it could not have boon serious. Tho grentor
portion Of tho loss occlirh IN the ROOF. cornco,
l1e estimated at from a30,00o to e9b.0 900. There
were thrco elevators tn tho building, valued ut
ahout 900, which woro no badly damaged
Tint thoy will have to be roplaccd. y There wan
10 insurance on tho building, NJ tto Singer COM
pany profors to carry its own riBkb.
THE onowD,
though small Mt flrat .gradually increased until
hftor business hours whom It sweilotl Mt 0nco to
over 900. Gazing upon tho grand odnco oil,
and aorrow soomod to porvade the whole multi
tudo. Many no doubt recalled aconoa Of sadnoss
associated with tho groat fro OF tho fatal DC.
tonor Al woro intent on seGlng n what " would ,
Third National Bank, and tho lan1bor piles nd
jnoent to DuBby'H now building, wore heaped to
tho top with mon. Washington, State, Madison,
and Randolph Btroes. in the vicinity Of tho tlro,
were fammed. Five street-cara on State street
were caught on tho north Bido Of tho hoso-ptpoH
which furnished ilrst-clasB look-onta. Ono pas
senger who had paid his fnro OIL one of tho cnrh
was Hoen occupying hin acat at o'clock. llo
Ind rcmai1led thoro since @, And Aaid he had paid
his fare aud Wns bound to ride homo.
THE PRESSURE ON THE noaE-r1rEs
waa 80 great that they bursto1 in nlany Hections.
This happened throo tinaea in tho satne section
the water flying, In good inch stream, nearly
to tho third story, and scattering tho crowd Of
mon au1 womoii Budaonlly i'll all directions.
Ono lady In now brown silk dress was douged
nt this polnt md at once departed for or. aoar
plneo li1so It. Botwoon mud O'Clock tho sput-
tering Of all tho engines, the jam Of the stroot-
cars mud busos, tho falling of the cor,,ce, mud
tho full conviction of tho crowd TINT tl.ut tho
great building would go down, rendered tho
Hcenc
QUITE EXCITING.
At ths tino tho building wns watched with
great anxiety by Thousands, some Of whom wore
3 seemed ta''n detennfnaa '' to SEQ T tho thing
out. A t,lrr-tnblo was extemporizod and
It WaB run upon tho rails, but it ran oil again,
first on one side and then on the other md thon
fell down md keolcd on tho main track in dis
nbled condition whore it was abandoned to itB
fate. PasBongerB however, would 60 into this
chr and take their eeats, aud wondor for awhile
why 1t did not !" CO."
Tho crowd did not full to cheer tho Little
Giant ongine, which stood OH tho northwest
corner OF State aud Washington atreotH, and did
Its work, na some say, better than any engine on
tho ground. 1t Ia remarkable tint, in 80 largo n
crowd, wlloro cars buses, and 1iro-wagona wcro
no numerous, that
Of aorioua character should hive happened. Dy
10 o'clock the va6t multitude had diaaproared.
Tho grand building, though saved, looked
When tho ilro first broko out, gentleman
who was at Sixteenth and State atreets immcdi-
ately took downtown car and offered tile
driver $40 to hurry through. But it wan impos-
get aboard Mt every corner from that point to
Madison street.
NARROW ESCAPE.
The brown-stono trout building Immediately
north Of tho Singer building narrowly escaped
losing itH top story. At tho very commencement
of tho fro it seemed to llavo it's full sharo but
the north wind prevailing ut that tinlo drove tllo
| hidden flames away from it aud under the cor
| nico Of tho Singer building. After tho llook-and-
ladder men cut Il few holes In dangerous spots
| in tho roof aud coruice, tho contents Of chem
ical engine were applied, and tho fire bonoath
oxsinguishod. Tho building is owned by a Alr.
| Speer, OF Kcnoaha, ind has bcon rented by
wholepnlo trade. Tie damage done to il was
vory slight, but would hayo boon much greater
had It not been TINT snbBtantial double brick
wall, rising several feet above tho roof, inter.
| yonod botWoon it md tho Singer building.
| ALMOST A. CATASTROPHE.
| Considerable excitement was caused by tho
recklosslesB OF tho driver OF stylish conveyance
| on Washington street near Dearborn. An engine
was working at the intersection Of these strcete
| with heavy steam pressure, and correspond
| ing draught. The fountain of glowing elnbera
from the chimney and the roar Of tho boiler and
machinery wero admirably calculated to scare a
lorao untraiuel to their proximity. The Mar
engine, and tho driver Of tho carriage referred
to underworld to initiate him. Tho street was
thronged with people. and ~ the rochlesa driver
approached the ongine. his lloraos trembling
and and insdigna.ion aidcd in sgltatlng tue pool
beasts. 4 catastrophe WAS happily ayartcd by
| two rongh-lookng mon Eoizing tho horseH by
tho head md burning tho carriago, cnliyoninG
the occasion with uttorances moro forciblo tLall
polite, but much condon,natory Of tho driyor.
TIE BUILDING.
It Ia little more than year ago that tho tirht
description Of tho Singer Building WIS giyon Ia
tho public frou, the doaigna of tho architect,
NIr. jonnison who obtained tho award against
a worry cloBo competition by nearly dozen
| architects III tho city. Fow mercantile build
ings have boon constructed in this city
with 40 much caro- or doliborasion nj
the great ediace on Washington street
architects in tho city to tho preparation Of draw.
inge. aud q corresponding interval olapsed before
tho Company decided to nccopt those Of Mr. Jell.
,,ieon. lie received tue award in the tlrat weol
in May, and work was immediately comulencol
Tho frontage on State Btroot is 1G0 foot, and OIL
Washington street 150 feet. Tho original design
contemplated building five stories high oi
stone, with q nn,'sard root containing twe
atorios. Tho aggregate height would havc beer
1SS feat. Upon this design Mr.. Jenniaon pro
ceoucd with tho construction Of the building
and had made considerable hoaflway before tic
loase Of tho building was obtained by Atessrs
Field & Leitor. Tho building WAS ready fnr Tic
,.,,o3. In In 1nrln1n flnfuro ManHard rn0fa il