Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-07-26
The Great Fire in Baltimore.

of the great hire ID Baltimore, yesterday, we
give the following condensed in letter TO the
Washington Chronicle:
About 10. 80 clock yesterday morning fire
broke out i'll the extensive tour-story brick
blaming mill, sash and door factory owned aud
occupied by Joseph Thomas & Son, situated
ON the south side Of Clay street, near Park
Clay is a narrow street, beginning at Liberty
about midway aud nearly parallel with Saratoga
on the north aud Lexington on the south, and
extends west and iutersects Park and Howard
streets, and terminates at Eutaw street. =
Thomas planning mill was in the shape Of the
letter L. having front on both Clay and Park
streets. The fire broke out iu the engine room,
near the centre of the MILL and in a short time
the building was enveloped in flames, and the
boilers of the engine exploded.
A stiff breeze from the southwest was blow
ing, and owing to the heat anti dryness the
flames soon communicated with the adjoining
buildings on each side, on Clay and Park streets.
The herceness and heat of the coutagratlOn ln-
creased the breeze aud led the flames, which
leaped across Clay street TO the north sldc and
soon each side of Clay, east to Park, was on ire.
The flames shot high above the burning build
ings, aud dense Volumes OF sutfocttng smoke
were borne northeast ward, hurting blazing Gu
uerS IN every ulleCllpI, Which, ICiI w ui
marched roofs In short time Park street,
on each side from Lexington on the south,
across Clay to Saratoga on the north was Il
sheet OF fire, nearly every building being IN
flames. The heat was SO intense that all the
tiremen were driven from the streets.
/ Extending along Clay street eastward across
Park toward Liberty street the fire sped on lis
way taking every building III its track and
threatening general destruction. The four
blocks bounded by Liberty on the east, Sara
toga north, Howard west, aud Lexington on
the south, intcrsected by Park aud Clay, were
each ablaze aud severa! fine buildings on Null
berry street had taken fire from burning
brands hurled by the wind. About a. u. a
general couHagratlUn seemed lmGlneut aud
the fire department was teIegraphed TO for as
sistauce, The greatest CONSERVATION prevailed.
The roofs Of several buildings as far of as Cal
vert street had become ignicd as also the
dome Of the Cathedral, aud stecple Of ST. Al
phopsus Catholic church corner of Park and
Saratoga streets. La all dlreciious women and
children were fleeing from burning houses, aud
for blocks around every article OF furniture was
being removed peIlncll and thrown from win
dows. The streets were almost llupassabic
from blocking OF furniture wagons, and every
kind of vehicle that could be brought into re-
QUESTION. While the fire was raging the en-
tire fire department was nuhly at work battling
its progress, assisted By an army Of cllzeuS,
who crowded the roofs Of buildings on every
side and many blocks off, qucuchirg the falling
blazing brands with buckets Of water and pre-
venting iguitlou by spreading wet blankets.
The dome Of the Cathedral WAS covered with
Blankets and thus saved, as also St. AphunsuS
Church. The hremcn, driven from Park street
between Lexington and Saratoga by the IN
teuse heat abandoned this section to its fate,
and directed their main efforts to prevent the
spreadpg of the fire beyoud the four blocks
cines arrived from Washington aud rendered
available assistance The fire ragged until near
5 D. ~, but By / y. ID. was completely under
control. The following is a list Of the buildings
destroyed aud losses as far as asccrtaiucd:
Iu the list given, where no estimate is made
the losses could not be asccrtaned. Commcnc-
ing at Saratoga street, on the south side, at
the corner OF Liberty, every building was burn-
ed, including the Central Presbyterian Church,
the estimated loss on which is $4,000, insur-
ance SG0, 900; building adjoining Oh the West,
No. Sc, occupied by j. .. Hursery; No. IS,
Mrs. Mary Curtin; No. 80, +. j. Battou!ar,
shoes: No. 90, Dr.. J. Lindsay: No 81, Dr..
Powell; No. 81, Miss Margaret Dieter; No 9S,
uuoccupied No. 100, Mss Middleton: No. l02,
Sisters of Notre Dame; No. l04, St AlphoDsuS
School and Library, which extended to Clay
street south. The estimated loss on the two
latter buildings is said to be $4,000, covered
by insurance, but 10 what companies could not
be ascertained; 100. boarding house; los,
Daniel Sullivan, gas filter; 10, corner OF Park,
Simon Leon. All these We're foe brick struc-
lures, several stories in height, and arc a total
loss. West of Park, OF Saratoga, Nos. ll6,
Clement Ostendorf, cigurs; Is, /. }. Crowley,
house painter; l2O, A. OSteudort, jeweIer; I'D,
T, Lautner, tailor IA, Mrs Hork, coutection-
cry; l26, John Weys, lager beer; l26, Fred
erick Neide, lager beer; $50, private frame
dwelling; 1872, Henry Litz. lager beer all burn.
ed out; 1874, 1885, aud IS, the latter the Central
Garden lager beer saloon were partially burn
ed, at which poiut the fire was stopped on Sara
toga street, four doors from Howard. On
the north side Of Saratoga street no buid-
ings were destroyed, but "A dwelling adj joining
St. Alphonsus Church, occupied by the he
demptorist Fathers, was deugcd with water.
% the west side Of Liberty street, south OF the
Contra! Presbyterian Church, to the corner OF
Clay, were three private dwellings,, Nos oS,bo,
aud 81, which are the only bindings lett stand
ing on the block, and are only partially dam
aged On Clay street, north side, between
Liberty aud Park streets, every building was
destroyed. On the south side of Clay, between
Liberty and Park streets--James II. and John
S. Hopg. carpenters aud builders, loss $4,000;
insurance 81, 700 in the Flremen's, of Ball-
more; John ID. Stewart, Central stables, loss
$4,000, insured for $4,000 III the F!remen' s.
aud $1,000 in the Maryaud. % the south
side of Clay street, west Of Park. Joseph
Thomas & Son, saw mi large four story
building, owned by Anderson Banks, built for
saw mill. but uuoccuped and several small
brick dwellings. On the uorth side of Clay,
and west ofPark, the buildings destroyed were
occupied by painters caryers, carpenters, and
cabinet makers, whose individual losses are
small 90 Park street, west side, between Lex
iugton and Saratoga, the principal losses are IT,
f. Derton, tobacco, No. 3; Thomas G. Bur
ton, house furnishing goods, No %; loss heavy.
From this point to Clay street some eight or
ten small buildings were completely destroyed;
aud thence to Saratoga principally small stores
and lager. beer saloons.