Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-07-22

VIZ Aiioe iodptlSI OuuFCu, Two Ot06T
church buildings, the post office,
Michigan Avenue and St.. James
Hotel, lnter-Oceanic and other eIe-
giant blocks erected after the fire of
1871, and a number Of fine residences,
the fam es were stayed right at the
very doors of the heaviest business
blocks and three or four Of the best
hotels. ~ ~ g..
The Tribune says editorially "The
cool headed observer of the confagra-
ton must have felt that we have paid
light penalty for allowing our magnif-
cent business center to be surrounded
With wooden rookeries< We have
come off cheap, The gilded martyr
around which fagots have been so pro-
fusely piled has not yet burned to
death. Perhaps this small calamity
will show us how to save it, perhaps
not. There are now some sixty acres
OF burned territory between the fagots
and the victim. This gap may be the
means of saving what is left If so
let us thank God. The predestined
fate of every wooden building in
large city is to be burned at some time.
We have offered up sixty acres of our
combustib!es as a sacrifice to the genius
of free institutions, meaning thereby
the freedom Of every man to keep
tlnder box and an Oil factory, where it
suits him best. Would that we could
say this is the last of such mad folly
1t is not. Chicago still has thousands
upon thousands Of wooden shanties to
feed future fires, and 60 down they
will, all in good time"
The Times and Inter- Ocean also
speak in strong terms of the folly of
allowing wooden buildings within the
city limits.
The following are the exact limits
Of the fire, as viewed this morning
The fire burned a small portion of
Clark street, near Twelfth, where it
originated, thence took Third and
Fourth Avenues, between Peck, Court
and Twelfth streets, and burned these
as tar as Harrison street. State street
was burned from Harmon Court to
Van Buren,; Wabash Avenue foom
No. 452, near the corner of Peck and
Court to No. 267, near the corner of |
Van Buren, and Michigan Avenue
was burned from Harrison street to
Van Buren,: a short distance. The
business buildings burt. out on east
side OF State street number 80, On the
west side So, on the east side of Wa
bash avenue, 26, on the west side, "a
on Michigan avenue, II, on the east
side of Claak street, IA; north side of
Van Buren street, 6, south side, 6;
on the north side of Polk street, s;
south side; 4 on the north side of
Harrison street, l2; on the south of
Twelfth street, l3; nortn side, q.
The Times makes the following esti
mates of losses, which will be found |
to be pretty nearly correct. The area
burned over covers fifteen squares,
taking bits and half blocks here and |
there, and Jumping the whole, the
burned area is about half a mile long
and little less in width, and embraces
the tumble-down sbanty and palatial |
avenue residence: Clark street, $50
600; Fourth avenue SIS, 900; Third
avenue, S25O,000; State street, ST., |
300. 900; Wabash avenue, 81 200 600;
Michigan avenue, sl50,000; Taylor
street, $4,000; Polk street, $40, 900;
Harrison street, $4,000; Congress
street, $4,000; Van Buren, street,
s50,00O; Courts between Wabash
avanue and State street, $3.50, 600;
Total, s4,O25,000.